15 comments/ 75893 views/ 44 favorites Oil of Roses By: Fillmore Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Effusive thanks to Holly, the beloved and erotic Sister Decadence for her encouragement, editorial review and kind words. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board.. The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. * * * * * Harry Grimes had stopped in at the bar because he'd remembered it as it used to be. Many years before, he'd stopped there regularly on his way home from work, moving past the bar and its stools deep into the coolness of its dark interior where he would rest his eyes from the glare of the Texas sun while a shot and beer eased the stress from his forehead. Thirty minutes of rest in the soothing cavern-like depths and he would be ready to face the freeway again. "Shannon, you're a lifesaver" he'd tell the bartender, and away he'd go, half his journey home completed, fortified for the rest of his evening commute. But then he'd gotten married, and his drinking every night had bothered her, and he'd have done anything for her, so he'd stopped, and for three years it had been fine and glorious and wonderful and they'd fucked like wildebeests-on-ecstasy and that was it and it was forever and nothing could ever change it and one day he came home early and her car was in the driveway and what was she doing home from work and who's car was that next to hers and "what the fuck do you think you're doing with my wife" and "why didn't you tell me you felt this way, we could have gone to counseling" and "I'm sorry you think it's too late for that" and so they were separated and when Harry wasn't lying to himself he was pretty sure the only reason she held out the hope of reconciliation was to let him down a little easier. All in all, after six months of separation, it seemed a pretty good reason to start having a drink on the way home from work every night. So he'd pulled in at the Pearl, tucked in-between a head shop and an adult newsstand, parked the car and headed in, expecting Shannon to be tending bar with his usual bemused smile on his face, the décor to still be just one step up from 'Texas Beer Joint Casual', the radio to be playing classic rock, but not too loud. He didn't notice the head shop had become 'Fist of Love Tattoos'. He didn't notice that the adult newsstand was now a club called 'Vortex Void'. He was too busy seeing things the way they used to be and squinting from the glare of the sun, even behind his sunglasses, to notice little changes like that. The inside of the Pearl hadn't changed much; the décor had moved up some, it was right around what he would have called, in his youth, 'Punk Club Normal'. The music was a little more contemporary and the bartender was a bit more extreme; lots of tats, lots of piercings. He was friendly enough, said his name was Ruben and he was quick with the drink order. And after one shot and beer, Harry couldn't think of a reason he shouldn't have another. And Ruben helpfully brought him a menu from the small kitchen, and so it was a basket of fried mushrooms and cheese sticks and another round. Harry still couldn't think of any reason to go home, so another round was in order. When the music from the club next door started to pound through the walls, the radio was turned off. Harry barely noticed. When the bar started to fill up with people, all of them younger than him, sitting in small groups and talking, Harry barely noticed. He sat there drinking and thinking and thinking about drinking and searching for a reason to go home and his booth in the back of the Pearl really started to feel like home and that friendly Ruben brought by another basket of fried mushrooms that he wasn't sure he'd ordered but they sure were good and somewhere in there this curvaceous little girl in a black dress and interesting makeup, like a ghost or something, had showed up at his booth and had talked him into changing his drinking rhythm. Two big glasses of water, then a shot and a beer, then two more big glasses of water, and he was pretty sure he'd been talking to her about Angie and their marriage and since she was listening he'd bought her a round, or maybe two, and definitely something to eat, but mostly she was drinking water and she was a real good listener and he might have cried some, he wasn't sure and then he didn't remember anything at all for awhile. * * * * * He was riding down the freeway with his head out the window, not feeling sick, but the wind moving across his face felt good to him. He wondered who was driving. * * * * * And he was moving up the walkway to his house and he wanted to list to the left but he couldn't because there was this little obstacle in his way. * * * * * He was sitting on the end of his bed with his underwear and one sock on. The little girl from the bar was making him take a lot of aspirin, one at a time, chased by big gulps of water. * * * * * He came half awake in the middle of the night, his bladder urgently calling him to the bathroom. He felt alright, but upon sliding out of bed he found that his body and his mind disagreed on just how alright he was. And she was there, a small figure in a white t-shirt way too large for her, helping him into the bathroom. She lifted the lid and set him down on the seat. "I stand up to pee" he said through a fog of confusion. "Not tonight Harry. Tonight you sit down to pee. And while you're sitting down to pee, you take more aspirin and drink more water." So he did and she helped him back to bed and he slipped back into sleep, wondering where the little elfin creature went when she wasn't helping him. * * * * * He surfaced through the layers of sleep again at someone tugging on his arm. "Harry, I found your business card in your wallet, who do I need to talk to at your office? Who's your boss?" Her questions confused him and answering them seemed to be the best way to make them, and the confusion, stop. "Karen Pinard. Talk to Karen Pinard." As he lay there, floating on the surface of sleep, he heard her talking to someone. She had dropped the tone of her voice ever so slightly, sounding more mature. "Yes, Ms. Pinard please? Thank you. Ms. Pinard, this is Carol Riley, I'm an old friend of Harry Grimes. My husband and I met him for supper last night and he took sick, some sort of stomach ailment. We got him home and I've stopped by to check on him on my way to work this morning. I'm afraid he won't be in today. Yes ma'am, he made sure to have me call you, it was the first thing on his mind. Yes, I may well be taking time off this afternoon and taking him to the doctor if he isn't better by then. Why yes, of course, I'll pass that on to him. Thank you so much Ms. Pinard. Good bye." She hung up the phone and leaned down next to his head, kissing him on the cheek. "Harry honey, it's ok, go back to sleep, your boss says you're all caught up, so they can afford to be without you for a couple of days, you just get to feeling better." Harry drifted away again. * * * * * He came partially awake with a start, hearing the shower running. "Oh, it's just Carol" he thought to himself and went back to sleep, not thinking it odd that he was comfortable with a woman he'd only just met, and didn't really know at all, being loose in his house. * * * * * He came to once again to a sensation he hadn't had since childhood. Someone was bathing him. He lay there with his eyes closed as the warm wet washcloth traveled across his face to his neck, a brief pause as it was re-moistened, then around his neck, and on the back of his neck. He marveled at a feeling of paralyzation as he lay there, seemingly unable to move as she washed his chest and arms, stopping as she approached his groin to move down to his feet, there to begin cleaning her way up his legs. He realized that it wasn't that he couldn't move, it was that he didn't want to move, had no real reason to move. For the moment, he felt drained of the pain of his problems with Angie, purified of the poisons that had been building up to toxic levels in his mind as he kept his feelings about the separation inside. He felt as if some infection had been washed away from him and although the thought of his and Angie's probable impending divorce still saddened him, it was a sadness of acceptance. As if she could read his mind, Carol said softly "So, I get the feeling you haven't talked to anyone about what's going on with you and your wife, have you?" "No" he murmured, afraid to speak too loudly and break the mood. "You sure said a lot last night Harry. When I sat down I could tell you were hurting, but I had no idea you were that bad off. She really did a number on you, didn't she?" "I guess she did. I don't think she meant to though" Harry said, somewhat defensively. "No, no I'm sure she didn't" Carol responded, "roll over. But she did nonetheless. There, that'll let me get started on your back." The silence, a comfortable one, returned as she gently washed his back and then the backs of his legs. "Stay right like you are" she said, "I need to get some more warm water." And so Harry lay there, feeling as if he was in some state of emotional shell-shock, detached from himself and where he was, slightly amused to find that he was only just then realizing he was naked. Carol returned and began to tenderly wash his ass, starting with the cheeks and then holding the cheeks apart with one hand as she slowly and carefully ran the washcloth in-between them with the other. Harry lay with his eyes closed, wondering at his willingness to let this stranger clean him, trusting her as if he'd known her for years. "So Carol, I gather I've told you a lot about me" he said quietly, "why don't you return the favor?" "Fair enough" she replied, "but it'll have to wait until I get back with more water and a fresh washcloth. Roll over again." Harry did so and Carol returned to begin cleaning his balls, slowly and, it seemed to Harry, lovingly. "Well Harry, I don't have what you'd call a normal story, I suppose. I'm property. I'm a pet, a slave, a submissive, a sex toy." Harry's eyes popped open and he stared down the length of his body towards Carol. The bedroom drapes were drawn, but enough ambient light crept in around the edges so that Harry could see her clearly. No smile on her face, no sign she was joking. He examined her for the first time that he could remember. Dark brown hair, short in the front and on the sides, ran midway down her back in the rear. She had a darkish tan complexion, vaguely Hispanic, with an oval face, full lips, brown eyes, smile lines around her mouth. She looked maybe 18. From what he could see through the t-shirt's tenting effect, medium-sized breasts and if the thighs coming out from the t-shirt's bottom were any gauge, she'd have a devastating ass. He vaguely remembered from the night before that she had seemed a bit plump, not a problem for him, and very shapely, but he wasn't at all sure how much he trusted any memories from then. She was watching him closely, as if to gauge his reaction to her statement. He closed his eyes, forced his mind to calm, his body to relax. "That's an interesting line of work, so to speak. How'd a nice girl like you..." "End up like this?" she said. Harry could hear the smile in her voice. "Well, I've known I was submissive since I started having sex, back in junior high. I was in college, working towards my theater major when I realized just how deeply my submissive streak ran, just how much I wanted to be owned, be controlled. It's not that I can't take care of myself, or even that I don't want to. It just really fulfills me, body and soul, not to. To hand that responsibility over to some one else, to pledge my life and my service to them; Harry, I can't explain it to anyone who doesn't feel the same way, or at least I haven't been able to so far, but for me, it completes me. It makes me happy. Well, most of the time at least." Harry realized that while he'd been listening to her talk, she'd begun cleaning his dick and between the conversation and her cleaning, it was standing at attention. She continued to clean it, smoothly running the warm washcloth up and down the shaft, almost, in fact, moving from cleaning him to stroking him towards climax. "So who" Harry semi-choked out, "owns you now?" "A real shit-head named Rick Cox and I probably need to be getting back to the apartment here before too much longer. He's going to be pissed as it is, but he's the one who kicked me out last night. He doesn't like me around when he discusses business so I got dressed up and went to Vortex Void. It was dead, so I ended up in the Pearl and there you were, in a lot of pain." Carol put the cloth down "Lift up your legs Harry. There, that's it." She slid in-between his legs, sitting cross-legged on the bed, his knees propped across hers. "Just relax Harry. Let me take care of this for you." Harry opened his eyes to see her opening an old bottle of massage oil that had been left in the bedside table since he and Angie were together. She sniffed the open bottle mouth. "Roses... nice." And then she began to pour a thin stream of the oil on to his erect cock, watching it trickle down the sides, disappearing into the mat of his pubic hair. "You have a very pretty cock, Harry. Nice size, nice shape, good bend to it, no funky knobs or knots or warts or running sores." "Are you always this romantic" Harry asked, laughing. "No Harry, this isn't romantic, this is a hand job." And with that she began to massage his nut sack with one hand, while slowly stroking the shaft with her other. Between her legs, Harry could make out a trimmed, but un-shaved, bush, and a hint of wetness glistening between the lips of her pussy. "Would you mind taking the shirt off" Harry asked, his mind slowly fogging over with the sensations from his crotch. "No Harry, I don't think so." "Carol, take the shirt off, now." She looked at him, startled, her hands ceasing their efforts. She grasped the bottom of the t-shirt with her oily hands and slowly began to lift it over her head like a curtain rising on a Broadway show. But what Harry saw revealed was no show and he never would have paid money to see anything like it. Bruises, a lot of very bad bruises, black and purple and green and yellow, coating her torso and abdomen, large bruises and small, in some places blurring together until he could hardly differentiate between them as they seemed to blend into one large massive bruise. She returned to stroking his dick, with both hands now, her eyes downcast, refusing to meet his. "So," he asked, "that Rick's handiwork?" "Yes." "Is it the same on your back?" "Worse." "Would you like to stay here? Not go back to him?" She looked up from her efforts, her eyes shining with hope. "Because you're welcome to if you want to." And the hope in her eyes died. "That's just not the way it works Harry." As her left hand continued to swirl up and down his prick, her thumb running firm circles around the nerve junction on the underside near the tip, he felt her right hand move under his ball-sack and towards his ass. He felt himself building towards an explosion as he looked at her, beautiful in spite of the bruises, stroking his cock; her shoulders slumped with the weight of her situation. She felt him beginning to tense and eased off. "Not so quick Harry, I want this to be special. You know, normally, I'd be sucking you off, and I'd be swallowing it all like a kitten with a bowl of milk, but you've been under way too much stress, and you drank way too much last night. If you came in my mouth, and I'd want you to come in my mouth, I'd swallow it no matter what and I don't feel up to the bitter taste you're going to have. Sorry." She smiled at him. "Now, let's just let things cool down a little, then we'll build back up to a climax again." Harry felt his orgasm back away and as he lay there watching her, he could see that she was studying the reactions of his dick very intently. When his cock gave a tiny shudder, she smiled to herself in satisfaction and slowly began to stroke again. As he relaxed into her rhythm again he asked, "So, you come into the Pearl, and there I am, in a lot of pain. Why'd you sit down? Why not leave me alone?" "I couldn't, Harry. Not the way you were screaming. Oh, not verbally, not audibly. But in every other way; your posture, your facial expression, the number of empties on the table, the look in your eyes, the way you were murmuring to yourself. You were like an animal, trapped in a cage, going mad and biting itself constantly, just gnawing at its own limbs. I had to see if there was anything human left to save. And if there was, was there anything I could do to help. Now, enough talking, it's time to let me make you feel good." Harry closed his eyes, felt the quickening pace of her firm, smooth strokes, felt the fingers circling his asshole, felt the soft, smooth plump skin of her thighs beneath his legs. He opened his eyes once more and, ignoring the bruises, gazed at her tits, finding them to indeed be medium sized, full and beautiful, her nipples erect, and the skin crinkled all around them. He closed his eyes again. His mind started to turn on the issue of her, and her future, and he shut it down, calming himself, relaxing into the experience as he felt his balls tremble as they released another load into the system, to make its way up and out. He opened his eyes, watching her as she watched his cock, varying her rhythm and studying the effect upon him. It seemed that her hand was barely touching his prick, that it was swinging free and that in that swinging she was reading some message as to where his orgasm was, then guiding her hand to barely brush his dick in a few certain places, just enough to bring the orgasm on a little further. The air of the bedroom smelled of sex, and of her, for looking between her legs he now had no doubt of her excitement, and of him, and sweat, sweat with too much alcohol in it on his part, and over all of that the smell of roses, a smell he had associated with Angie for so long, but now he was sensing new associations being forged, and roses would forever be associated with this odd young girl who would stop to help a stranger in need. He didn't know if he loved her, he didn't know if he truly needed her, but he knew that he wanted her. And with that thought, his orgasm passed the point of no return. Carol saw the orgasm beginning. She wrapped her hand firmly around his cock from the top side, careful not to block the tube his sperm was beginning to erupt out of, pinching the nerve cluster on the bottom lightly between two fingernails. She put the index and middle finger of her right hand together and, extending them, shoved their slippery rigidness up Harry's ass, forcefully, all the way to the knuckles and began thrusting, firmly but smoothly, in and out. The unexpectedness of her penetration caused Harry's sphincter to tighten down, but it also unleashed yet another torrent of cum from his already over-excited balls. Harry gasped and cried out as his hips began to spasm and buck and he watched himself shoot a full three, three and a half feet into the air, a fountain of sperm that was raining back down everywhere, all over Carol and him and the bed. Oil of Roses Ch. 02 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Effusive thanks to Holly, the beloved and erotic Sister Decadence for her encouragement, editorial review and kind words. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * Harry Grimes woke up feeling better than he had in over 6 months and if he thought about it, longer than that. The events of the previous evening and morning filled his mind with wonder; it was if he had somehow stumbled into a dream and then awakened to find reality better than what he had dreamed. He lay on the bed, eyes closed, wondering where Carol was. He listened to his house, trying to locate her by sound. There was nothing from the bathrooms, no shower running, no sounds from the kitchen, no hint of television or music and no padding of feet anywhere that he could hear. Momentarily, a feeling of worry gripped him. Had she left? Had she been lying to him? No. He'd stake everything he was on it. She hadn't left, she hadn't lied. So then, where the hell was she? It was then he noticed the soft susurration of breathing, coming from below, next to the bed. He rolled over to look. There on the floor, curled up in a nest of blankets, was Carol, asleep, her arms entwined in the chain attached to her collar as if she had tried to bind herself. He reached down and gently shook her shoulder. "Baby Girl, time to wake up." She rolled on to her back, slowly raising her arms over her head, the chain's loops gliding along her flesh like silver streams. He marveled at the sight, how anyone so bruised could be so beautiful, how anyone could make thin dog chain look so sensual, how anyone so wonderful could entrust their life to him. Her eyes opened and focused on his face, hanging over the side of the bed above her, and she smiled a beatific smile, the smile of an angel proclaiming the Grace of God. "Good morning sir. Shall I make breakfast now or may I serve you in some other way?" "Yes Baby Girl, you can tell me what you were doing sleeping on the floor." A look of worry clouded her face, robbing it of its light. "Sir, I... this is where I sleep... this is where I've been told to sleep." "When did I tell you to sleep there?" She moved effortlessly, gracefully, up from the floor and onto her knees, head down, arms crossed before her. "Sir, you have never instructed me as to where or how I am to sleep." "Little Cunt, what am I to do with you?" Harry asked as he sat up and leaned back against the headboard. She looked up at him, the glint of mischievousness in her eye. "Well sir, I think my bottom should be soundly spanked by you with your bare hands, or a paddle, until it glows red. Then it would be the absolute in torture for you to cover it in kisses." Harry smiled, in spite of his momentary irritation with her. "And what then?" "Well sir, if past experience is any guide, after that, I will be begging for you to fuck me in the ass... but whatever you do, you mustn't do that! You should do whatever else in the world you want to me, sir, but never ever fuck me in the ass when I'm begging for it!" Her elfin smile lit her face. "Because whatever you do to B'rer Rabbit, you don't ever want to throw him in that briar patch." He grinned. "Alright, that sounds like fun, and may well happen... but what if I was seriously displeased?" "Sir, I enjoy being bound, being restrained, to a point, but I don't enjoy being left in frustration. Tying me down and exciting me, and then leaving me there, unfulfilled... well, that's a very good way to punish me and is especially productive if small vibrating toys are left running in my cunt and ass on 'low'. I'll be a quivering, crying and begging wreck in about 15 minutes." "Good to know," Harry responded, "now then B'rer Rabbit, I think you better climb up here and lay across my lap." Harry's pet hopped up off the floor and leapt across him, planting her pussy directly atop his prick. The nearness of her had his cock immediately stiffening. "Count the strokes as they fall, little one," he said. His hand came down sharply and slapped her butt, causing it to jiggle delightfully. As her hips writhed she moaned "Ummm, that's one, sir." The spanking continued and Harry watched amazed her excitement increased. The spanking part did little for him personally, as he had a long list of things he'd rather be doing that involved her body, but she was definitely enjoying it. His cock could feel the warmth and wetness in her crotch, so close it was as she arched and flexed, grinding her hips down onto his. His musings were halted as he heard "Oh... that's... ten... sir" and he brought his sore hand down to his side. Her hands, which had remained outstretched before her during her spanking now caressed her ass, pulled the cheeks apart, stroked Harry's chest and legs. "Shift off of my lap, Baby Girl" he said and she crawled off his lap and lay lengthwise on the bed, facing the foot. He fell on to the bed on his elbows, his hands reaching out to encircle her reddened ass cheeks. His mouth filled with saliva as he lowered his head to the left cheek and began to lick and suck at it. Her hips began to twitch and gyrate. He covered the cheek several times, savoring the feel of her skin beneath his mouth, before moving on to the right side and beginning all over. Her ass was all that he'd imagined, soft and ripe, plump and round, smooth and silky. His mind fogged with delightful sensation as he moved to the crease of her bottom, .licking around her asshole, his hands gently kneading both saliva-soaked mounds. Her voice brought him back to awareness as her hands slid under his and pulled her own ass cheeks apart. "Sir, I beg you, either fuck me in my ass or prepare to punish me again. Please sir, I'll do anything you want, just please fuck me or tongue me or find something, sir, find anything and fill my ass." Her body hunched backwards in the bed, her ass rising in the air, her hands pulling at her whipped cheeks, scrabbling at them, trying to open her bottom as far as she could. Thin trickles of fluid dripped from between her cunt lips. Harry ran his hand along her slit, gathering the lubricant and slathering it on his prick, repeating the process until he was satisfied that it was slick enough. He placed his hands on her thighs, holding her still as he put the tip of his dick to her puckered sphincter. For just a second as he made contact he felt a tightness, but when she sensed him, she relaxed. He felt the change in tension and taking it as a final welcoming, pushed his prick inside her. A shudder ran down the length of her body as his penetration proceeded. She raised herself on her arms. "Oh yes sir, that's it. All the way in sir, push all the way in, please" she babbled. She ground against him, pushing back, until his balls were partially shrouded in her pubic hair, her ass cheeks spread to near-splitting as her hole met the base of Harry's cock. "Oh God sir, that's so good. Thank you sir, thank you Harry. Oh I love you sir, oh God I love you." Slowly but surely Harry began to move her ass back and forth on his dick, carrying the weight of her hips with his arms as he leaned back slightly to plant himself firmly into the mattress. Through the dividing wall between her ass and her cunt, he felt her spasms as her excitement mounted. In and out his cock slid, the fleshy sheath of her ass sucking at as if it were her mouth he was fucking. The muscles of her ass pulsed up and down his shaft and he stared down in amazement. He was burying his dick in the ass of a beautiful woman, a woman who'd given herself to him, body and soul, to do with as he wanted. There was so much he wanted to do with her. "Baby Girl, I own the most beautiful pet, with the most beautiful ass, that I have ever seen." "Oh... God... thank... you... sir." As the pace intensified, Harry saw the strain start to show in Carol's arms, so he slowed to a halt and carefully shifted into a sitting position, his back against the brass footboard. Carol leaned back towards him and her thighs began to take her up and down. Harry caressed her body as she rode him and before very long the feel of her under his hands, the steady vice-like grip of her rectal muscles and the motion of her brought him to the edge of orgasm. He put his hands on top of her thighs and, arching his hips, slammed into her, matching her rhythm. His cock pulsed in and out of her as her muscles tried to keep it in by tightening on the outstroke and relaxed to let it all back in on the in-stroke. One of her hands flew up to stroke her left breast, the other went to her crotch and no one, least of all them, would ever be able to tell whose orgasm began first, but there was no doubt that they finished together. Harry heard a deep moaning, almost a grunting. It took him a moment to realize that the moans were his as he tried to drive his body through hers while his dick convulsed through its orgasm. The moment seemed timeless as his hips bucked uncontrollably. Soft, whimpering, breathy cries came from between her perfect lips as she shuddered and shook. As their climaxes wound down and Harry's hands relaxed somewhat, Carol's tired thighs refused to lower her with his down stroke, so his rapidly deflating cock slipped out and then Carol fell face first to the bed. Harry began to sit up, concern struggling through his post-orgasmic bliss, but before it could even get really started, Carol had rolled onto her side, spun around so that her head was next to Harry's leg. Her arms wrapped around it and she began to kiss it, murmuring "I'm yours; thank you; I'm all yours". Slowly she crawled up his body, kissing and murmuring, until she was curled up next to him. Her head sank to rest on his chest. She fell silent for a time and they lay together, bathed in their love and the sweat of their passion. After awhile she spoke. "Sir?" "Yes, Baby Girl?" "If it's not too impertinent to ask, are you going to fuck me like that regularly or am I going to have to walk through the house breaking shit?" "You're not going to have to walk through the house breaking shit." He glanced over at the clock by the bed. It was 6:15 in the evening, almost exactly twenty-four hours after he'd walked into the Pearl. * * * * * After a shower for the two of them which only failed to become another mad session of fucking because of their mutual need for food, Harry realized that the only clothes Carol had available were the t-shirt she kept rolled up in her bag to sleep in, and the black dress she had worn the night before. "That puts another stop on the expedition this evening" he said. "Excuse me sir?" she replied. "We're taking you clothes shopping. We're going to supper, we're stopping by the drug store for whatever else you may want, we're hitting the grocery store so the house will be stocked with things you want, and I assume you know a place where we can find you appropriate slave gear and other accoutrements?" The small naked woman launched herself at Harry, wrapping her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist and whispered in his ear "I am yours". He kissed her and, disentangling himself, said "I know you are, that's why we have so many stops to make". She slipped the dress on over her naked body. It clung to her like a second skin and Harry felt his cock stirring in his pants. "You were wearing that last night and I didn't make a pass at you? I must have been very bad off." "Harry, last night you barely noticed I was female at all." She put old dog collar back on her neck and began to spool the chain around her waist. "Baby Girl, take that off, you don't have to wear that in public." She gazed up at him, walked over, took his face in her hands and pulled him down to her. Their lips met and the kiss was an incineration that had each of them reaching to take off their clothes before Harry pulled back. She looked at him somewhat shamefacedly. "Sorry sir, I didn't mean that to get out of hand." She looked him straight in the eyes again. "Harry, you have great instincts as a pet owner, but there are times when you still don't get it." "I'll take it off if you want me to, but it's not a trial or a tribulation or a shame or anything else negative for me to wear this in public. I'm proud of it. I'm proud of you, I'm proud you chose me. If I had my way, I'd never go anywhere without my collar and chain and I know that it's not socially acceptable for you to be holding the end of my leash whenever we're out but again, if I had my way you would be and if there is anywhere that I really shouldn't go wearing them, then I really don't think I need to go there in the first place." "In fact Harry, as far as your pet is concerned, I don't need to go anywhere that would frown at me sitting or kneeling at your feet, or cuddled on your lap or next to you, should you so desire, whenever you're seated. I don't want to go anywhere that my serving you, in any way you desire, would be looked at askance. I realize that most places we'll go would have a problem with me dropping to my knees and sucking you off, or lifting my dress and letting you take me as you would, but on the other hand, I know quite a few places where no one would bat an eye." That definitely got the attention of Harry's cock. He reached down, shifted his growing erection to one side. "You'll have a chance to show me those places someday," he said "but for now, let's go get something to eat before we pass out." * * * * * To Harry's delight Carol opted for Thai food when asked her preferences. He hadn't had Thai food since he'd gotten involved with Angie as she didn't care for it and since the separation he hadn't been much in the mood to eat anything. Two plates of excellent Peanut Chicken at the Bangkok Inn later, they sat back and smiled. "So Baby Girl, time for you to answer some questions for me." "As you wish, sir. Such as?" "What do you like sexually? What aren't you comfortable with? What won't you do?" She gazed levelly at him, spun sideways on the booth seat and crossed her legs tailor fashion, incidentally giving him a beautiful view of her uncovered cunt. "Harry, you ask some good questions and some very silly ones. Let me get the silly ones out of the way first." "There is nothing I will not do. There are no limits. Granted, there are things I pray you never ask me to do, that you are never in a position to need me to do, there are many things I trust you will never ask me to do, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't do them if you told me to." "I don't like scat play. I find nothing about shit erotic; that's why I prefer to be cleaned out prior to anal fun. As you well know, however, that won't get in the way when I need a good ass fucking." "I don't care for any form of water sports. Again, to me, waste products are waste products and while I can deal with humiliation I much prefer pampering." Harry reached down between her legs and began to gently stroke her pussy, running his fingers through her soft pubic hair. She smiled. "I don't like being shared with other men. I've been passed around to friends by every owner I've ever had, save one, and I don't like it. I'm yours, Harry. I don't want any other man ever having me. But as I am yours, I do whom I'm told to do." "Conversely, I love being shared with women. I am an enthusiastic bisexual. I lean much closer to the hetero side than the homo, but I do love women. I've never had a female owner and I'd never want to serve only a woman, but if you want to see me in heaven, Harry, let's find you a woman good enough for you, who loves you the way you should be loved and, of course I'd hope, doesn't have a problem with me; I'd be in paradise, serving the two of you. Bliss for me would be facedown in her snatch while you fucked me in the ass. Talk about a happy Baby Girl..." Harry had begun slipping a finger in and out of her wetness, still stroking her pubic hair. Their waiter came to the table, began to ask about something and stopped, staring, dumbfounded at what was taking place in the dark corner booth. Harry reached into his pocket, fished out a twenty, tossed it on the table, turned to the waiter and putting a finger over his mouth, said "Shhhhhhh". The waiter grabbed the twenty, smiled, nodded and left. "I've lived in a multi-pet harem before and I'm not fond of it. There tends to be a lot of infighting and catty conduct and I'm just as bad about it as anyone. I want to be the most favored, just like everyone else, and I don't like who I become when I feel I have to fight for the position. But fight for it I will." She reached down, dipped a finger into her dripping crotch and brought it to her lips. She looked at Harry with a question in her eyes. He nodded and she delicately licked the moisture off her finger. Harry's pulse rate raced as his cock hardened. She dipped the finger back into herself and offered it to Harry. "Would you like a taste, sir?" Harry leaned forward, took the proffered finger into his mouth and swirled his tongue around it. Her taste filled his mouth and he savored each second of its lingering. He released her finger and leaned back. "Continue." "I enjoy bondage up to a point and there are types of pain I adore, but many more I don't like at all; from the tenderness I see in you, I probably don't have to worry about that. As you may have figured out, I enjoy being paddled and spanked. My whole ass is an erogenous zone and there's damn little you can do to it that won't turn me on. I enjoy being a bad girl, often because bad girls get punished." "I've never been branded and quite frankly, I hope I never am. I would willingly be tattooed at my owner's request but branding frightens me. I've been pierced multiple times in multiple ways. It does nothing for me and I've let the holes grow closed as soon as I could after the relationships ended." Her mood softened. "There is no fantasy I won't help you indulge and fulfill, no role I will not play, for however long it takes to make that dream come true for you. I can, and have, even played the dominant mistress of a relationship with no trouble at all as I knew it was merely a role during playtime." She leaned forward, her tongue caressing Harry's ear. "I'm an actress Harry," she whispered, "I'm your actress. Who do you want me to be? Nothing's out of bounds, nothing's too perverted, nothing's too silly, no judgments, no morality, just your heart's desire." Her hand reached down, caressing his throbbing cock through his pants. She moved to whisper in his other ear. "Do you want, like Oedipus, to ravish your mother, shooting your seed into the womb that birthed you? Or would you have that ice queen who ignored you in high school on her knees before you, begging you to take her? Would you prefer to examine every inch of me, Doctor, as I'm sure I need to be probed thoroughly? Or shall I arrest you, take you to your cell and give you a cavity search as you lay helpless, handcuffed to the bars? Is it time for me to get my 'A' from teacher by sucking him off? Or do you want to force your teacher to the desktop to fuck her like she deserves? Are you tired of your sister walking around the house with next to nothing on, is it time to teach her a lesson? Do you want to know what it's like to pay a whore for her time and be fucked by a professional? Shall we play 'minister and the choir girl', Harry? Do you want to indulge in a little pretend-rape, safe and sound, all in good fun? Will you torture me, mein Herr, for the information about the Resistance? Hell Harry, if you want to wake up Snow White with true love's first fuck, I know where we can find some out-of-work midgets to play the dwarves." Oil of Roses Ch. 02 Harry's mind was engulfed in a whirlwind, a tornado of possibilities and dreams half-formed, given birth by the girl nibbling on his ear. "Harry, I'm a fuck-beast. I've made it my business to learn how to please my owner, in whatever way he commands. Command me." Harry felt the pre-cum oozing from the tip of his dick. The restaurant swam before his eyes. His voice quivered as he tried to achieve coherence. "For now, Baby Girl, sit back and continue." She did so, and her voice too was somewhat shaky when she went on. "I don't do drugs, other than smoke and alcohol. I've been made to do others before and I didn't enjoy them. Give me a couple of pipe bowls of ganja and a few highball glasses of a good bourbon though, and I'll guarantee you an evening of fucking that will leave you weak and exhausted on the floor, cuddled in my loving arms." Harry smiled. "Strong claims, Baby Girl. Someday you'll have to put your money where your mouth is, so to speak." "Why wait sir? You can have a sample now, although it won't have anywhere near the full effect." She slid out off of the seat and onto the floor, flowed in-between his legs and started to undo his pants. Harry began to object, a knee-jerk reaction from all the years of thinking in terms of 'things you did not do'. He realized he had been taken beyond some of those limitations by the girl between his knees. He felt sure she was going to take him further beyond them in the future. So, she was going to blow him in a restaurant. At worst, they'd get arrested for public lewdness or some such nonsense. In all probability, the waiter would keep his end of the bargain and no one else would ever know. Carol released his straining cock from its confinement. "As I said earlier sir," she murmured,"you have a lovely cock." Taking it in her mouth she draped her arms over Harry's thighs. With a barely audible slurp, she drew the full length of it down her throat, her muscles working it up and down its length. Her saliva swirled around it in a gentle flood, her tongue dancing along its surface. Looking down Harry could see that her dress had ridden up on her thighs as she squatted down. To anyone who approached, Carol's bare ass might be seen in the dim light, bobbing back and forth beneath the table. He leaned his head onto the bench back and closed his eyes most of the way. He was so lost in the intoxication of her that whatever happened would be what happened. He would deal with it as it came. She began humming as she moved her head, forwards and back, bringing her lips to the base, his cock as far down her throat as would go, before gently pulling back to run her tongue along the bottom all the way to the tip yet again. The humming stimulated him to an almost painful intensity. He tensed but then forced himself to relax, trusting in his girl to take care of him properly. As he let the sensations flow over him, the tune she hummed, already hauntingly familiar, became clear. She was humming Schubert's "Ave Maria". He was getting blown to 'Ave Maria'. His eyes opened. Standing there, next to the table, was the manager of the restaurant, a handsome middle-aged Oriental woman. Her eyes and facial expression eloquently communicated her desire to sit and watch. Harry nodded. When he was this far off the map, there seemed no good reason to turn back. The woman sat, folded her hands upon her lap and watched, a smile upon her face. Harry let his eyes slip nearly shut again, sinking into the experience. As "Ave Maria" ended, Carol released his cock from her mouth. "I love you sir" she said. Then she went back to work on his dick with a vengeance. But extra effort wasn't really required. Her declaration of love had taken him too far to stop. Her mouth flew up and down his shaft, gently teasing his prick as his balls spasmed convulsively. She felt the flood beginning and without clamping down, sucked as hard as she could. As his hips rocked, locked in erotic seizure, she braced herself with her arms against the back of the booth bench, letting his motions move him back and forth in her mouth. His semen roared out and she fought to swallow quickly enough to keep excess from spewing out the sides of her mouth. When at last the torrent has slowed to a trickle, she laid her head against his thigh and carefully, gently, milked the rest of his cum from him with her tongue. Harry opened his eyes and gazed adoringly at the little miracle that sat with her head resting on his thigh. "I love you too, Baby Girl. And you're right; I will end up half dead, cuddled in your arms." "Told you" she said impishly. The sound of the manager subtly clearing her throat brought her back to Harry's attention. He turned to look at her. "Sir," she said, "love is a rare thing, much rarer than it should be. Although I would deny I said this were I questioned by the health inspectors, the two of you honor my establishment. You are a very lucky man, sir. And you, young lady, are as lucky as he, I suspect." She stood to leave. "You are welcome here anytime. Should you require more privacy than this, ask for the Vimanmek Palace room. It is almost always available. I shall send over a bottle of our Black Krachai wine, courtesy of the house. Not only is it quite delicious, but its healthful regenerative effects may help to revive you after your... discourse." * * * * * Several glasses of superb fruit wine later they were much refreshed and the conversation continued. "Harry, I don't mean to pry, but what kind of budget are you looking at for slave gear? It determines where I recommend we go. I mean, there's some very nice stuff at a place on Rio Grande and we could probably get a good starter set of collars, cuffs, restraints, straps and chains for a real reasonable price. I don't want you to spend money you don't have." Harry smiled to himself. She didn't know. She hadn't snooped through his house, checked him out. Not that he thought she would, but still there was always suspicion. "Baby Girl, delight of my life, there are things I need to tell you. What did it say on the business card you found with my office number on it?" "Uh, 'G & P Advertising, Harry Grimes'. There was some other stuff but I didn't bother to look, I was in a hurry to call, I didn't want you to get in any trouble." "Baby Girl, that's 'Grimes & Pinard Advertising'. It's my and Karen's company. Angie's living in the house in Crockett Heights she and I bought after we'd been married and living at my parent's old house for awhile. I never had the heart to sell the folks' old place, and I'm really glad I didn't since I need it now. After the divorce, even in a community property state, with what I've got stashed away I could take a year or two off if I wanted to and we'd be ok, unless Karen and I went completely insane after I got back and ran the company into the ground." Carol sat, staring at him, eyes wide and mouth open. A look of fear crossed her face. "Sir, I didn't know, I swear, I didn't know. I'm not some money-grubbing whore looking for some rich guy to take for all he's worth, I'm..." Harry quieted her with a kiss that he held in place until her mouth stopped moving in speech and relaxed into the kiss. Then he held it awhile longer. He broke from the kiss, sat back and smiled at her "Shush, Baby Girl, I know you're not. You're a dear, sweet wonderful girl who saw a man eating his own soul and waded in to save him. Everything that's happened since has been kismet. So, we're talking the best slave gear there is. Indulge yourself." "You're sure, Harry? I mean, really sure?" "Little Cunt, I will spank you on this table, bare ass to the world and then butt fuck you with a chicken bone. Don't question me like that again," he said, grinning. "Yes sir. May I borrow your cell phone then? We need to make some appointments." * * * * * They made it to the mall with about an hour to spare. That hour was spent in a whirl of clothing stores as well as a quick, but very promising, smash-and-grab through Victoria's Secret. While Carol was trying on outfits, Harry pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number from memory that he hadn't thought of in years. "Hello, Margo? Yeah, it's me. Listen, I need a favor, and I know I haven't talked to you in years and you're probably pissed at me and I know you're busy and I know you don't exactly do this kind of thing anymore but I trust you to do a good and thorough job, you're the best doctor I know. If I have to, I'll call in that big fucking favor that I don't think you owe me. You do this for me, you decide if the debt's paid." "I've gotten involved with a girl... yes, I'm very glad to hear it too. Yes, I know your opinion of Angie... well, she's coming out of a really bad relationship, physical abuse, lots of bruising and I'm not sure what all else. I need you to run a complete physical on her, hopefully tomorrow afternoon, a full workup, X-rays, the whole nine... ok, I'll stop telling you how to do your job. You'll do it? 3:30, your office on Medical Boulevard? Margo, I never felt you owed us anything for what happened at the field house. I'm going to owe you big time for this." * * * * * Dr. Margo Wohler-Sapperstein hung up the phone. She though back to high school, their senior year, when a rather dim running back for their team decided to try his hand at rape behind the field house on a bright and sunny day in October. She thought about two of the most unlikely heroes imaginable, a pair of stoners who might have remembered her name on a good day, as they didn't mix much with the brainy clique. Harry Grimes, peaceful and laid-back even when he wasn't high, and Eddy Janak, who, according to rumor, was kept high by his friends so he didn't kill someone. They'd been cutting through the athletics area on their way back from somewhere that definitely wasn't class when they literally stumbled across Cliff Jeffreys about to take her virginity in the vilest way possible. She had screamed at them incoherently. Years later she could laugh about it because, as they told her in the aftermath, what she said in "Stoner" clearly translated as "beat this fucker till he can't walk". And they did. And he couldn't. If it had been just them warning Cliff to let it end there or else they'd report what he had tried, it wouldn't have worked because no one would've believed them. But Margo Wohler, top of her class, preacher's daughter, well, her the authorities would've believed. So Cliff had been beaten by 'unknown assailants' and they'd taken her home, wrapped in Eddy's huge denim jacket and stayed with her until her mother got there. There hadn't been a lot of talking; there hadn't been a lot to say. It wasn't until years later, at the 10 year reunion, that she found out they'd visited Cliff several times over the following months, impressing on him his vulnerability to potential accident, should anything ever happen to her. Yeah, the oddest pair of knights errant imaginable. And no matter what Harry said, she owed him and Eddy more than she could ever repay. * * * * * He pulled out the cell and for the second time that night dialed a number from memory that he hadn't called in years. "Eddy? Yeah, it's Harry. Yeah, I know I've been off the radar. Bad marriages and working too much will do that to you. Yeah, I know you know about bad marriages, what are you up to now? Six? Nine! Nine goddamn divorces? Jesus Eddy, did anyone ever tell you that you could fuck a woman without having to marry her? Anyway, I need a favor. I've gotten involved with a girl... no, she's nothing like Angie... yeah, I know that's good... listen, I've gotten involved with her and she's just coming out of a bad relationship. The guy beat her, real bad, I'm taking her in to see Margo tomorrow to see just how bad, but anyway, I need to go get her stuff from this guy, I'm looking for some back-up and while I'm there, I was thinking we might inflict a little justice. What? No man, I haven't smoked dope in years. So, you up for it? Coolness. I appreciate it. I'm thinking sometime Friday, I'll get in touch with you once I know when's the best time to catch him sleeping. Sure, you take care too buddy. Later." * * * * * At a small restored three-story Victorian home in a very respectable part of town they sat out on the front balcony, which was mostly screened by live oak trees, watching a model, naked but for the restraints and collars she was demonstrating, illustrate their choices in the moonlight. She had the help of the owner, an elderly woman who reminded Harry of an English teacher he'd had in high school, although he could never have imagined Mrs. Hendrix showing her class just how easy it was to suspend your slave from her fine hand-made whipping posts. A tall and angular Oriental woman, naked, with teeth filed to points and a body pierced through in multiple places with long, double-ended spikes came and knelt beside Harry. She eyed Carol with obvious lust. "Is there anything you require? For the discerning palate we have opium and absinthe as well as, I am ashamed to say, various beers and sodas. We also have bottled waters. I shall make tea at your request; please, tell me what you desire." "Uh, nothing, thank you." "Shall I take your girl away and... amuse her... for a time?" "No, thank you. But if I do require anything, I shall send her in to retrieve it from you." "Very good, sir. I shall eagerly await her arrival." She stood and glided back into the darkness of the house. The owner, Madam Cornelius, looked at the two of them and chuckled. "You must excuse Li Kuan, Mr. Grimes. I indulge her and I spoil her. She is insatiable and enjoys playing with young girls. If they show interest, she can even instruct them in more... extreme... pleasures." Harry felt Carol shudder against his leg. "Quite alright, Madam Cornelius, I understand about indulging one's pets." He leaned down to Carol, sitting at his feet, whispered in her ear. "Baby Girl, I am feeling very inexperienced and woefully ignorant." "Relax sir, you're doing fine." After another hour of Carol subtly indicating to him what she wanted, and him throwing in a few things that caught his eye as well, their host sat down across from them after dismissing the model. "Mr. Grimes, I don't recall seeing you in our circles before." She leaned over, loaded a hookah that sat on a side table and lit it, taking a deep hit from one of the tips. The smell of marijuana hung heavy in the still air. "No Madam Cornelius, I'm very new to this circle. I don't really even think I knew there was such a circle until recently and I'm not sure how much of a fixture I'll be. I'm mostly a quiet, stay-at-home type." She offered him a hose from the hookah. He was about to refuse when he felt a slight tugging on his pants from Carol. He took the hose and drew a great mouthful of smoke. Leaning down, entwining his fingers in her hair, he pulled Carol's head back with a jerk. Pressing his lips against hers, he blew the mouthful of smoke down her throat. She inhaled sharply and her arm, wrapped around his leg, began to writhe as her hand caressed his leg, moving up towards his crotch. "Now, Little Cunt" he softly growled, smiling, "do not bother us again or I shall send you in to play with Li Kuan." Madam Cornelius looked on with approval. "Nevertheless Mr. Grimes, you seem to have a good grasp of what is required. Shall we visit together awhile or do you need to conclude our business immediately?" "Madam Cornelius, I have no pressing engagements. If I am not keeping you from any of your own, I would welcome the chance to visit." "Excellent, Mr. Grimes. Li Kuan! Put on a pot of water! Do you have any preference in teas sir?" "I am inexperienced, Madam Cornelius; I place my palate in your hands." "Li Kuan! Prepare a pot of Pu-erh Tuocha with rose petals. And Li Kuan, if you overheat the water again I shall rip something from your flesh!" * * * * * As they relaxed, sipping at their tea and smoking from the water pipe, Madame Cornelius continued. "Mr. Grimes, it seems to me that you are not precisely a Dom, are you?" "No," Harry replied, "I just sort of fell into ownership of this sweet young thing." "Do you foresee yourself desiring a dominant and submissive relationship with your play-toy?" "No, Madame Cornelius, I don't think so. She is mine, but not as something to abuse or humiliate, rather as a pet to be cherished and loved. Of course, pets, just like small children, who disobey or misbehave are punished, but this is different, I think, than a master and slave relationship, or a dominant and submissive one." She motioned with her finger and Li Kuan stepped out of the shadows to stand beside her chair. Madam Cornelius reached up, lazily, with one hand and grasped a spike that was piercing the flesh of Li's abdomen. Slowly she began to twist it. "You are quite right, Mr. Grimes, and it shows wisdom that, as inexperienced as you are, you recognize that." As she continued to twist the spike blood began to well up around the edges. Li Kuan's smile became a grin, sharpened teeth glinting in the moonlight. Lines of moisture crept down her face from the corner each eye. "The sexual spectrum is very wide, Mr. Grimes. There are countless mixes of various kinks, fetishes and deviances. Take the three of us, for example. You wish to love and cherish your little toy. I would, were she willing of course, have her tortured and humiliated for days while I reveled in my power over her. Li Kuan would like to ravish her and mark her; scar her physically as well as, in all likelihood, emotionally." Carol turned her face away, whimpering. Harry leaned forward and gathered her up into her lap. She burrowed her face into his chest, suckling at his nipple through his shirt, so he unbuttoned it partway and opened it. She latched onto his chest and an undercurrent of sucking sounds flowed across the balcony. "I suspect, Mr. Grimes, that until recently you were very much in the 'normal' area of the sexual spectrum. Am I correct?" "Yes you are, Madame Cornelius. Not only normal, I'm afraid, but in retrospect, probably boring as well." "Well Mr. Grimes, it may be many things out here past the boundaries of 'normal', but boring generally isn't one of them." Carol turned her head and peeked at her. She released the spike and it slowly began to pivot back to its original orientation as the skin settled. Li Kuan's excitement was evident. She looked at Carol and licked her lips. Carol jerked her head back and began whimpering shrilly into his chest. "Mr. Grimes, I'm afraid Li Kuan and I have upset your plaything. She seeks to comfort herself and bargain with you for her safety. I'm certain there is something you can use to pacify her." "If you are sure, Madam Cornelius..." "Dear sir, trust me, unless you are one of nature's freaks, you will have nothing in those pants this balcony has not seen countless times before. And after all, we are here for the indulging of desires; yours, hers, mine, Li Kuan's. Please, feel free." "Go ahead then Baby Girl." Carol dropped out of his lap and clawed at his pants in a panicked attempt to open them. "Little Cunt! Calm down. You're mine. I'm not going to share you with Madame Cornelius or Li Kuan. Relax... take your time." Carol knelt on the balcony before him and forcefully suppressed her panic. Her owner had assured her she was safe. There was nothing to fear. When she could hold her face steady and look him in the eye without worrying that she'd embarrass him again, she did so. "Thank you sir, I apologize for my panic." And then she calmly unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, took his cock out and began to suck on it as a small child might suck a pacifier. Oil of Roses Ch. 02 Harry leaned back, taking in the scene. Was it some rule of his new life that he'd been unaware of, that now he was going to regularly have his cock sucked in front of relative strangers? "You're safe from me it's true, little one. And you're safe from Li Kuan," Madame Cornelius said. "You belong to a very charming gentleman who will protect you and keep you." "But enough talk, let us relax and enjoy what delights we may take from this life." She called Li Kuan back to her and began again to twist upon her spikes. The wine and the dope were taking their toll on him. He felt himself turned on by the whole situation. There he sat, watching Li Kuan's ass quiver as Madame Cornelius twirled away on two spikes at once while his girl found comfort by blowing him out in front of God and everybody. He reached over and picked up a hose, taking a massive hit. He exhaled eventually, then sucked in another and drug Carol's head up from his crotch. Into her mouth he blew the smoke, holding the kiss as she breathed through her nose, tasting himself in her mouth as his tongue explored. Standing, he kicked off his shoes and stepped out of his pants, picked Carol up and carried her to the rear of the balcony. Bracing her back against the wall, holding her up with his arms under her thighs, he slipped his dick into her and began to drive back and forth at a slow and steady rhythm. He didn't understand a lot, but he understood all he needed to. He understood what he was doing right then, at that moment. He was making love to the woman he adored. Everything else was incidental. Carol chewed on his shoulder like a beggar on a crust of bread. He looked past the top of her head to see Li Kuan kneeling in front of Madam Cornelius, her hand under the Madam's skirts, working furiously, her sharpened teeth biting and drawing blood on her bottom lip as her mistress twisted her nipple spikes, blood oozing down Li's chest. "Baby Girl," he whispered, "sometimes I feel you're the only real thing in a crazy dream. You're the only one that's real enough to touch. Loving you is the only real thing I can do." He felt her tears begin to drip onto his shoulder and the pace of her hips surged faster. He matched her, the creaking of the wall behind her back punctuating their love. Her breathy whisper caressed his ear. "Sir, you just hold on to that thought, no matter how weird it gets and you'll do just fine." The night had drained him and it wasn't long before he felt his orgasm building. "Baby Girl, I'm sorry, I can't hold out much longer. I'm going to come." A sharp pain ripped into his shoulder as she bit down on him. "Harry, you shouldn't be apologizing to me, you should be using me for your pleasure." "Little Cunt, I am using you for my pleasure," he growled back. "I chose to apologize to you because it pleases me to pamper and spoil you. Your outburst as well as the pain in my shoulder has earned you ten swats in the morning and there will not be any 'happy-ass-fuck-fuck' time afterwards" "Oh yes sir," she muttered happily as her orgasm began to overtake her. Harry reflected that perhaps there were some things in the universe he just wasn't meant to understand as he let his own need drag him under. * * * * * After Li Kuan had brought out washbasins of warm water, washcloths and towels and matters of cleanliness were attended to, as well as another pot of tea brewed and drunk, Madam Cornelius looked over the two of them. "My dear Mr. Grimes, you appear to be done in. Is there anything else that you require this evening? Shall I have one of the boys drive you home? I'm not altogether sure I'd feel safe with either of you driving tonight." "Madame Cornelius," Harry replied, "as amply demonstrated tonight, many times, your hospitality, kindness and gentility know no bounds. A chauffeured ride home would be most appreciated. I question our ability to get ourselves home as well. I can think of nothing else that I require tonight, but I am sure that, if you permit it, we shall call on you again, both for business and the pleasure of your company." "Permit it, my dear man? I'll insist upon it! To business then. Everything you have chosen is in stock, or will be within the week. Later, if you so choose, when you have discovered whatever additional needs you may have, please be aware that we have suppliers who do custom work for any design desired. We will always welcome your business. The in-stock items can be delivered tomorrow at any time convenient to you and I can confidently schedule delivery on the out-of-stock items next Tuesday; acceptable?" "I find that very acceptable. Is delivery tomorrow around noon good for you and your people and would it be possible to take the smaller in-stock items home with us tonight?" "Noon is perfect and certainly, I will have Li Kuan put as much of your order together as is feasible. Li Kuan! I know you are hiding just inside the door, drooling over Mr. Grimes' toy! Put together his order! Release Andre and Hans to load it in his car, have Hans drive them home with Andre following in the Bentley to bring him back once he has delivered them." Harry reached down, took Carol by the chain and led her up to her feet. "Baby Girl, go decide what collar and which cuffs you want to wear right now and bring them to me. Tell Li Kuan we're very tired so there's no time to play." * * * * * Less than an hour later the two of them were standing under the shower, letting the little shower massager beat away the night's tensions. Leaving the shower only out of fear that they would fall asleep standing up, Carol dried them. "Am I sleeping with you this evening sir?" she asked. "Yes, dear one, until you hear differently from me, you will always be sleeping with me." She curled up in a ball near the center of the bed, the fur-lined collar, black with silver accents and d-ring, on her neck. As he gazed at her lovingly he watched her breathing smoothly calm towards the rhythm of sleep. He set the alarm and crawled into bed, protectively encircling her with his body and arms. His cock stirred slightly as it nestled between the cheeks of her ass but he was far too tired and far too eager to join his girl in slumber for any such desires to reach fruition. Peace settled over him and together they journeyed into dreams. Oil of Roses Ch. 03 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Effusive thanks to Holly, the beloved and erotic Sister Decadence for her encouragement, editorial review and kind words. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * His S-80 was careening down the wet road on the edge of 'out-of-control'. In the darkness outside the windows trees and boulders and bridge supports and buildings nestled themselves up snugly to the very side of the highway, flashing past almost too fast for recognition. His eyes went to the speedometer and he watched the needle climb past '120'. He'd been here before, many times over the past months and when it had begun the terror had overwhelmed him. But as time had gone by and the emptiness inside had grown more pronounced, had grown more inescapable, there'd been nothing left there to birth any terror. He'd grown very comfortable with the speed and the slick road, the sudden death so close to him. Comfortable enough to enjoy slaloming the car back and forth, testing his luck, seeing just how close he could come. After all, what was the worst that could happen? What more did he have to lose? But now, now something had changed and the terror was back. It roared up out of his depths and washed over him like a great wave, choking him, blinding him. He felt the car veering to the right and he knew he had seconds to correct his course or he'd never see her again and the emptiness would return and his love would be ashes in his mouth and where the light from her eyes used to warm him there'd be nothing but cold desolation and the pain and fear within him found a voice and that voice clawed its way up his throat, raping his vocal cords as it tore through and it was the sound a soul made when banished from the sight of God and his hands grabbed the wheel and tried to turn the car away from the danger but the wheel wouldn't turn as he felt his nails shatter and the tips of his fingers shred as the bone underneath pushed through from the force of his grip and there was nothing he could do and he'd never even be able to tell her 'goodbye' or how much he loved her- "HARRY!" -and she'd think he'd left because he didn't love her, she'd think he'd left because he never loved her and the front corner of the car hit something and time slowed so every second of his damnation could be enjoyed and the police report would say he'd run his car into 'whatever' and they'd all 'know' it was suicide and he could only cringe away from the thought of what that would do to her and now the passenger-side dash arrived like a herald announcing the nearness of the engine to come and- "HARRY GODDAMNIT!" -he felt his shoulders dislocate as he used all he was to turn the fucking wheel and the car was shaking back and forth in a rhythm new to the cataclysm and he wasn't going to fucking die here but he knew that was bullshit because he really was and there was nothing he could do to stop it as the dash continued its inexorable drive towards him, pinning his right hand to the wheel as it bent and began its voyage to mate with his chest and the measured shaking continued, back and forth and he'd never see her beautiful smile again and that was Hell, no matter what you'd been taught in any fucking Sunday School, that was Hell and he was going there- As a sharp stinging pain inflamed the side of his face and his eyes shot open. Her face, as beautiful as the dawn and full of concern, floated before him. His terror propelled his mouth into overdrive. "Baby Girl it wasn't suicide and don't you ever think I don't love you because I do and I didn't mean to leave you I tried so hard so goddamn hard but there was nothing I could do and when they tell you it was suicide it wasn't because there's no reason for me to want to leave you ever and if I never saw your smile again I'd be in Hell and I'm so sorry I won't be here to take care of you-" "HARRY," she shouted, "you were having a dream baby, you were having a nightmare, its ok, you're not going anywhere, you're safe, you're right here and I'm not going to let anything happen to you." His chest gave birth to deep wracking sobs as he continued to mouth his dream's overflow. Carol drew him to her, placed his head between her breasts and stroked his hair, rocking him gently. "Harry, baby, you're fine, it's ok, you're not leaving me. You're not going anywhere, baby, you're staying right here." As he slowly calmed, she reached to the bedside table and retrieved great wads of tissue, helped him to wipe his face and blow his nose. There, safe in the arms of his girl, he told her of the dream, and the history of the dream, and how tonight had been different. When he was through, when he had wound down, she gently led his mouth to her breast. "Harry, baby, there you go, there sweetie, that's good, yes, I like that... that's good, suck your Baby Girl's tit." "Now Harry, you just keep sucking and let me talk for a bit." Her voice was soft and calm, implacable. "If I ever meet Angie, I'm going to put her in the hospital. If you don't want me to, you're going to have to give me express and clear orders to the contrary because otherwise, I'm gonna kick that cunt to the curb and curb stomp her till it stops feeling good to me. And that, my dear sweet Harry, could take a long time." "Now, roll over on your back and let me please you, help to wash that horrible dream out of your mind and fill it with happier thoughts, ok?" Continuing to nurse at her breast like a man possessed, Harry slowly and carefully rolled over, scooting backwards on the bed into a sitting position. She reached down and behind her to find his cock, fully erect, straining to meet her hand. Throwing a leg over him, she guided him in. His dick penetrated her wet heat effortlessly as she lowered herself onto him, her eyes locked on his face. As her hips began their dance, tears flowed down her cheeks as she reflected that if every bad experience of her life had been necessary to bring her to this room, this time, this man, then they were worth it. They were all worth it. She'd found her place in the world. It would be wise for those who might hurt Harry to reflect that pets will fiercely defend their Masters. Harry's mind, still unsettled from the nightmare, found solace in the act of sucking his Baby Girl's tit. It was if he was nursing at the breast of tranquility, calm running down his throat in a never-ending stream. Oh, his dick might be anything but at peace at the moment, and his body might be yearning to join it in its rigor, in its vigor, but his mind and his soul, those were finding that quiet center of nirvana. He knew without thinking that Carol was meant to be a part of his life. It was not a rational thought, it was an acknowledgement of what was; true, irrefutable and carved into the granite of his being. Together they found their pace and moved as one, gently surging in unison, an act of love that was not a race to an orgasmic finish line, but rather a laying-on-of-hands, a holy healing of two people that life had had its rough way with. "Harry," she gasped, "I want you not to think, don't think of anything at all. Don't even think about what I'm saying, just let it flow into you and then flow out of you. Everything you sense, however you sense it, is not to be thought about, it's to be felt. I'm not speaking words, I'm making pretty sounds. What you see with your eyes is not a woman riding her love, it is shapes and colors and pretty designs, floating before you solely to delight your senses. All your nerves, all your senses tie into your cock, Harry. They all feed into your beautiful cock. They don't feed information to the brain; they feed sensation to your dick." Harry's mind, relaxed, tranquil and safe, found it easy to follow her instructions. He identified, quantified, qualified nothing; he merely experienced it and all the experienced sensations were good and they all began to trickle through his body like the beginnings of mountain streams and the streams grew and all the streams led to his cock, buried deep within the source of his peace and as he let go of the rational, she left words behind and began to sing to him, pleasant notes without meaning, it was as if a circuit was completed and it ran from his extremities to his cock and from there to her cunt and then out to her extremities and back across to his. Their bodies were fused and jolted as if from a great surge of electricity and they sang together as the seconds stretched to infinity. * * * * * As Anna Pessino approached Harry Grimes' house, she reflected again on the will of God and how it somehow seemed to demand that bad things happen to good people. She had kept house for Mr. Harry's parents and for Mr. Harry and his wife Ms. Angie when they were together, and she had never liked that Ms. Angie, or trusted her, but now she was working for Ms. Angie five days a week, and was sneaking over to clean house for Mr. Harry on one of her two days off and praying Ms. Angie never found out or she'd lose her position with her. Bad things happening to good people. Ms. Angie happening to Mr. Harry. Ms. Angie happening to Anna. Maybe it wasn't so much that God had bad things happening to good people, maybe it was that God had Ms. Angie happening to good people. She had spent the months following Mr. Harry and Ms. Angie's separation watching Mr. Harry's house reflect his slow sinking into a pit she was afraid he'd never be lifted out of. She had hurt him bad, that Ms. Angie, and it seemed that the living breathing man was dying, being replaced by a ghost that could live in the house from week to week and scarcely leave a trace. She never saw him, just a check on the table every week and a note that always said the same thing, 'thank you Anna'. She never stayed late enough to see him, as she had her own family to tend to, but she thought that perhaps tonight, she would stay late, talk to him, try to talk some sense into him, try to talk some life into him, tell him what that Ms. Angie was doing in that house they used to share in Crockett Heights. Maybe if he got angry, he'd come alive again. * * * * * Harry had released Carol's breast from his mouth and she had collapsed onto him. He held her head to his chest and she nibbled and bit her way back and forth across him, lost in the taste of him. Harry's head was thrown back, his mouth wide open as he lost himself in the perfumes that wafted about the room, most strongly the smell of her and her desire. They throbbed together as one, their incoherent moans filling the room and blending into a song of desire and longing and satisfaction and completion. They danced at the edge of their climaxes as if, in their mindlessness, they somehow knew that past that point they would become two again. * * * * * As Anna's car rounded the corner, she saw that Mr. Harry's car was in the driveway. Perhaps he was sick, or was finally taking some time off to deal with what Ms. Angie had done to him. Whatever the reason, it would give her a chance to talk to him. She could run to the grocery for him if he needed anything. She pulled into the drive and parked, got out and went to the front door, letting herself in. Her mouth opened, about to announce her presence, when she heard sounds she knew well. She looked around the living room as she quietly crept through. It was a disaster area. Boxes and bags and clothes were everywhere, chains and leather straps and metal things she couldn't identify. Her heart sang. These were the signs of life! Life was messy and no ghost moved through this house now. This, with the sounds she was hearing? There was life in this house! Mr. Harry was back from the dead! * * * * * The two lovers felt the strain building in each of them. The inevitable could only be delayed so long before it would no longer be denied. The avalanche began deep inside Carol and as it slowly cascaded down, its joyous answering echoes were heard inside of Harry. * * * * * Anna eased to the edge of the bedroom door and slowly moved her head around the door frame. The young woman on top of Mr. Harry was beautiful, a full-bodied, wide-hipped girl who looked like she might well have come from the same village as Anna. She heard the song of their moans and their cries and heard the love that echoed throughout it. The dimness of the room gave a cast to Harry's complexion and looking at the two of them, Anna was reminded of herself when she was younger riding her husband, Emiliano. Oh, the love they had made! She had been surprised the walls had not crumbled around them sometimes. The young girl rose up on her arms and gently eased her body upright. She arched her back and continued backwards, catching herself on her arms yet again, her head hanging down above Mr. Harry's knees. Anna watched, a smile on her face as this young girl brought life back to Mr. Harry in a way Anna had not considered. Well, perhaps if she was 30 years younger... and not married to Emiliano... or maybe even if she was. But she wasn't 30 years younger and she thanked God and the Virgin Mary and all the saints that this girl had come into his life. Then she noticed the girl's face, upside down, eyes open, staring at Anna and smiling. The girl winked at her. Anna jerked her head back and began to ease back towards the door. * * * * * As Carol leaned back, Harry could stand it no longer. He erupted inside her and it felt for all the world as if the brain he had turned off was flowing out of him with his orgasm. The inside of his skull was a great mass of wires, all short-circuiting at once. Carol rode out his orgasm, her arched position keeping her clitoris away from contact as he bucked and started like a man possessed. She ached to come herself, had had to force herself to back away from coming and was still so close that she could taste it but felt something holding her, restraining her, as if she was awaiting some signal. A part of her mind thought with pleasure on the look of approval she had seen on the face of the woman she assumed was Harry's housekeeper. She hoped her arrival did not prompt Harry to fire the woman. She never meant to be the cause of anyone losing their job, but if Harry wanted her to keep house for him she would. She would do anything for him. Harry's convulsions calmed to twitches and his eyes opened to see his love stretched out in front of him, her breasts riding high in the air, her generously fleshy hips snugly sealed to his. As his mind slowly began to come back online, he ran his hands up those thighs, then up to her waist, pulling her back over and down to him. "Baby Girl, why haven't you come yet?" And with his question came her answer. "Because sir, I feel that I have abused you and your privileges. Many owners consider it their prerogative to give and withhold permission to orgasm from their property. I do not wish to abuse you." "Fair enough. Then listen; unless I explicitly state differently, you are to orgasm whenever and however while we are making love. I will not withhold that from my Baby Girl without a reason." Carol brought herself forward, grasping him with both hands by the sides of his head and pulling him up to kiss her as she ground her crotch into his, her clitoris caressed by his pubic hair. Their lips locked and even with the post-orgasmic tenderness of his prick, he began to move under her once again as she fiercely pounded herself onto him. Harry broke from the kiss and whispered "Come for me" into her ear. Carol's body seemed to contract, as if she was shrinking away from everything and then she began to shake violently, a high-pitched moan voiced with every breath. Harry held her as her orgasms rolled on and on, kissing her face and neck, and bathing in her glow. Just when he would think she was done, she would arch herself down on him again and her orgasms would thunder on. Harry could think of no place in the world he'd rather be. As she finally began to tremble down to a stop, she crawled up his body to place her head near his ear. He listened, smiling, expecting a lover's endearments. "Harry, what's your housekeeper's name?" Harry's face had the look of a bull hit between the eyes with a two-by-four. "Anna. Anna Pessino, why?" "She come to clean on Thursdays?" "Yes." "What day is it?" "Holy shit, it's Thursday!" "Yeah, you'd better get ready to formally introduce us. We've already met somewhat more informally." * * * * * Anna let herself back out, praying that the girl didn't tell Mr. Harry that Anna had been spying on them. She paced outside for a time, worrying if she was giving them enough time to finish. Finally the Texas heat drove her back to the door. As she opened it, she yelled into the house. "Hello, Mr. Harry! It's Anna Pessino!" From the bedroom she heard "Be with you in a minute Anna" and then, well, it sounded like someone was getting a spanking. She thought she heard Mr. Harry say "I told you this was coming". A few moments later, out of the short hallway that led to the master bedroom came Mr. Harry in a bathrobe, hand-in-hand with the young girl she'd seen earlier, wearing a large t-shirt. She was rubbing her bottom. "Hello Anna, it's been so long since I've seen you. How are you? How's Emiliano? How're the kids?" He hugged her and her heart sang as she felt the life coursing through him and knew this was one that Ms. Angie had not destroyed. "I am good and they are all fine, Mr. Harry, although Emiliano, he doesn't get around too well anymore. And who is this lovely young lady?" "Ah, Anna Pessino meet Carol Riley. I believe the two of you met more casually just a bit ago, and you do need to get to know each other. Anna, Carol is now the lady of the house-" Carol leapt up, throwing her arms around his neck. Her t-shirt caught on the belt of his robe so she hung there, her bare ass covered in reddened handprints before Anna, as she whispered in Harry's ear. "Oh God sir, I love you so much." Harry gently disentangled her and lowered her to the floor. "As I was saying, Carol is now the lady of the house and therefore I want the two of you to get to know each other. Carol, Anna has kept house for my family for the last, let's see, eighteen years I think." Carol took Anna's hand in both of hers. "Anna, from what I've seen, you do a superb job and I think that the best thing for me to do will be to stay out of your way, unless you want my help." "Ms. Carol, help I don't need, this house is no trouble at all. But company, company would be nice sometimes." Carol's face lit up. "Harry, don't you worry, Anna and I will get along just fine." Harry took Anna's other hand in both of his. Oil of Roses Ch. 03 "Anna, the last six months have been hard on me and I want you to know that I've appreciated your efforts to brighten up the house with the fresh flowers and fruit. I was too messed up to appreciate them, but don't ever doubt that I appreciate the effort you went to. I know you know that my parents loved you and appreciated you. I feel the same. I hope I can show you how much." "It was nothing Mr. Harry. You are a good man. Much better than that Ms. Angie deserves- ""Anna, do me a favor, please don't mention that person again." "Of course Mr. Harry, of course." "Now if you'll excuse us, we'll get out of your way. We have an appointment this afternoon that we need to get ready for." "Of course sir, you and Ms. Carol go ahead and get cleaned up and out of here." * * * * * It took longer to get out of the house than they had planned as the rest of the in-stock items from Madame Cornelius showed up promptly at noon and they checked them in and signed off on the shipment. After a very late breakfast at a nearby bistro, Harry and Carol headed for the doctor's office. "Baby Girl, I hate to bring up bad subjects and worse memories, but I need you to tell me all you can about Rick Cox." "Harry, I've been thinking about that. There's really nothing at Rick's that I can't live without. I have you. There's nothing else I need. I don't want you to go to Rick's." "Baby Girl, you're about half a heartbeat from a name change to 'Little Cunt'. Eddy and I are going to Rick's; we're getting your stuff. That's settled. Now, what can you tell me?" "Yes sir. Rick is a small-time middle-man and drug dealer who likes to pretend he's big league. He thinks sticking metal through every part of his body he can makes him hard-core. His shipments generally arrive on Wednesday night and usually it's all been moved out or sold by late Thursday night, early Friday morning. He keeps a gun in his bedside table, but he's just as likely to be sleeping on the couch in the living room as in the bedroom, especially after a long night. He's a pretty deep sleeper. He is convinced he's a much meaner son-of-a-bitch than he is. The apartment complex is pretty dead during the day, most of the people who live there keep night hours, so a lot of noise will attract the wrong kind of attention and while I doubt they'd help Rick, no one much likes him, some of them might conceivably try to take you and Eddy for whatever you're carrying. It's apartment #257, Terra Nuevo Apartments, right off of San Jacinto." "Charming neighborhood. Alright Baby Girl, the doctor I'm taking you to, Margo Wohler, well, she's an old friend. I trust her with you, the most precious thing I possess, so you shouldn't be nervous. You'll be fine. Do you want me in with you while she examines you?" "No sir. I imagine she's going to ask me how I got some of these injuries. I don't think you need to hear that until after you've come back from Rick's." "As you wish, Baby Girl, but when I'm back, I am going to want to hear everything." "Yes sir, you will. After you're through at Rick's you have only to ask." They pulled into the parking lot and made their way upstairs to Margo's office. The receptionist smiled at them. "You must be Mr. Grimes. Dr. Wohler-Sapperstein had me clear the rest of the afternoon for the two of you. Go right on through, first door on the right." When she saw them come through the door, Margo stood and made her way around the desk. She hugged Harry and it seemed to Carol that perhaps her hug was a little hungry and a little long and that both of their hugs were a little loaded with desire. "Harry, you haven't changed a bit, still as handsome as ever." Harry looked at Margo. She had changed. Tall, with long limbs and a longish face, she had always reminded him somewhat of a newborn colt when they were in school together. Not that she was horse-faced by any means, Margo was a very pretty girl, and had grown into a lovely woman. With maturity her figure had filled out although in a longish fashion. Lots of voluptuous padding was there, it was just stretched out a bit. She had been beautiful and exotic when Harry had seen her last. Now it seemed a weight was bearing down upon her, a sadness, and it was taking its toll upon her. As her soul slumped under the strain, so did all the rest of her. "Margo, you look great. I see marriage agrees with you." From the wince that barely flickered across her features Harry knew he'd found at least part of the problem. "Yeah Harry, it does. Two years now, Dr. Benjamin Sapperstein, cardiologist. He's a good man Harry, we're happy." And if that's true Margo, Harry thought to himself, I'll eat my own head. "I'm sorry Margo, Carol, I'm being rude. Margo Wohler-Sapperstein, Carol Riley. Margo, Carol means more to me than words can express. I - I - I know that a complete physical takes a lot of time Margo, so why don't I get out of the way, let you get started. I'll be outside in the reception area." Harry went out and exited into the hall, dialing the cell as he did so. "Eddy, yeah, Harry here. You still in the same place? Yeah? Ok, I'll be there around eleven tomorrow morning, we'll take your truck, and I'm thinking we'll be in and out in about an hour, hour and a half. I need you to pick up some supplies for us, untraceable. Yeah, I'm thinking it might get a little messy. Here's what I need..." * * * * * When Margo called him back into her office, Carol leapt up to hug him. She seemed chastened, frightened. "Harry, while overall she's in amazingly good health, you got to another one just in time. It'll be awhile before all the lab work gets in, but from the physical exam and the x-rays, this Rick character was slowly beating his way up to doing life-threatening damage to Carol. It's blind luck or the grace of God that he hasn't seriously injured her because he's come within a hair of it more than several times. There's evidence hidden in her body of torturous, systematic abuse." "Harry, if she isn't screaming gibberish at you, I am." Carol sat, looking confused, but Harry just nodded sadly. "She did Margo. And we're going to." Tears started to leak from Margo's eyes. She put her arms around Harry's neck and kissed him fiercely on the cheek. "You're a goddamn good man, Harry Grimes, and don't you ever forget it; Eddy too." She stepped away, wiping the tears away. "Stupid Texas allergy season." Harry smiled. "You gonna give Eddy a hug and a kiss like that if you see him?" "You're goddamned right I will, Harry." "I'll tell him. Have him come by and collect." "Go right ahead. I owe him that." "I will. Margo, I cannot thank you enough, and we'll be waiting to hear from you on the test results. I assume the receptionist will tell me how much I owe you?" "Harry, there is no charge. And there won't be any argument. It's settled. Carol, it was a joy meeting you. Thank you for all you're doing for Harry. He deserves someone like you and I believe you deserve him. Be good to him." Carol took Margo's hand. "Dr. Wohler," she said, blatantly leaving off Margo's husband's name, "I will be good to him. And if you won't take money, will you please come for supper one evening, whenever it's convenient for you? Please? It's really the least I can do to thank you, and I'd insist on it if I thought I could get away with it." "Carol, I'd love to but finding a night when Benjamin and I are both free is so difficult-" "Dr. Wohler," Carol interjected, "I didn't invite you and your husband. I invited you." Margo looked startled, taken aback by the breach of etiquette, but slowly she smiled. "You're right, you did Carol, I'm sorry for assuming you meant the two of us. Let me see what I can do, I have Harry's number." They left the office. After they had gotten into the car, Harry turned to Carol. "Little Cunt, what the fuck was up with you slighting Dr. Sapperstein. She's married to him for heaven's sake. You were very rude." "Sir, do you truly want an answer to that?" "I wouldn't have asked otherwise." "Very well sir. How did I put it? 'She's screaming, not verbally, not audibly'. Sir, she's in a lot of pain and you know as well as I do that her marriage is about as unhappy as they come." "Alright, I'm with you so far, but what does a dinner invitation have to do with any of that?" She turned to look at him somewhat quizzically. "Harry, it's silly questions time again, I see. She wants you. I believe that deep down you want her too. I know that I want her. I think she can handle the truth of you and me." "Little Cunt, even if you were right, and I think you're dead wrong about her wanting me, although you may be a little right about my wanting her, she is a very attractive woman, that still doesn't absolve you of your rudeness." "You're right sir, it doesn't. And I stand ready to accept any punishment you see fit to hand out. I will apologize to Dr. Wohler-Sapperstein the next time I see her, sir." * * * * * As Anna stopped at the table to pick up her check, she noticed it was in an envelope. Opening it, she pulled out first a folded piece of note paper. "Anna, Sometimes it takes time in a hell where you don't feel you have anything to appreciate to remind you how much you truly do have. The first check represents your new weekly pay. The second is another of my crude attempts at thanking you. Thank you again, Harry Grimes" Anna reached in the envelope to pull out the first check. Another fifteen or twenty dollars would be a good addition to the $150 a week he was already paying her. The check was for $300. Anna was in shock. Surely this was the second check, so she pulled out the other check. $1000. It was a check for a thousand dollars! So the three hundred was the first check; he was going to be paying her three hundred a week for one day's work! Sometimes, she reflected, God's will was that good things happened to good people. Or maybe it was God's will that Carol Riley happened to good people. * * * * * The two of them were quiet through the grocery and drug store runs, Harry lost in thought, Carol following behind him, doing the shopping. As they made their way home, Carol broke the long silence. "Sir, what was the doctor referring to when she said 'you got to another one just in time'? What did she mean about 'screaming gibberish'? Why does she owe you and Eddy?" "Baby Girl, I would answer you if I could, but it's not my story. I won't forbid you to ask Margo but whatever you do, ask her in relative privacy, never in front of anyone but me." "Yes sir. I can guess though that you and Eddy did something for her like you're going to do for me?""As I said, Baby Girl, I can't say. It's not my tale to tell." * * * * * After a quiet supper, Harry sat and thought while Carol put away the bulk of the groceries and other purchases, reordering the pantry and the bathroom cabinet and drawers Harry has said were hers... As she worked she sang to herself and it was the sweet sound of her voice that finally broke through Harry's growing gloom. He dreaded the trip to Rick's, not out of fear for his safety, or Eddy's, but of fear for what he might do to Rick. "What was that you were singing Baby Girl?" he asked. "One of the old Irish songs my Grammy taught me," she said. "It's called 'She Moved Through The Fair'. " "It's a lovely song and you sing it beautifully. When you're through putting things away, please come sit with me and sing me the songs your Grammy taught you." "Of course sir." And so they passed the evening, both lost in their own worries about what the next day would bring, to the music of a people born to sorrow. * * * * * When Harry saw Eddy Janak for the first time in over three years, it was like stepping out of a time machine. Eddy hadn't changed. Still a great hulking bear of a man, still looked like a biker, still lived in a shit heap and still drove a crappy piece of junk held together with the prayers of the surrounding property owners that it wouldn't break down near them. "Eddy, you're working for a security firm and pulling down almost six figures a year. What the hell are you doing living like this?" "Fuck you, Harry;" the giant said good-naturedly, "you know how it is. If I'm married, she finds ways to spend it; if I ain't its beer, bonging and bitches." "Eddy, when they list the world's classiest acts, you aren't gonna be considered." "You're goddamn right. Now, are we gonna go kick this punk's ass or are you gonna bore me to death?" They climbed in Eddy's truck and made their way to the Terra Nuevo Apartments. * * * * * Back at home, Carol reorganized the closet Harry had given for the eighth time. There was nothing wrong with it, hadn't been anything wrong with it any other time. She trusted Harry and his faith in his abilities and Eddy's, whoever he was. She knew that the odds were exceedingly low that Rick would be anywhere near his gun, or would get any nearer, while they were there. She'd been lucky; she'd been 'blessed', for lack of a better word, a lot in her life. She'd come through some very bad times mostly intact. She'd survived a lot. She'd grown strong. But she'd also been taught that good things rarely lasted and as she power-fidgeted through the house, she prayed that she wasn't about to learn that lesson again. * * * * * Harry and Eddy pulled up at the apartments. As they got out of the truck and made their way upstairs, Harry said "Concentration Camp Chic, always a good design choice." "Yeah," Eddy responded, "nothing puts you in touch with your oppressed brethren around the world like living as they do. Goddamn, I thought my complex sucked." "No shit," said Harry, "this place looks like Beirut on Spring Break." They came around the upstairs balcony into the central court yard. The pool below them had perhaps 3 feet of brackish water standing in it, as well as a dead cat and discarded household furnishings in various states of decay. "Number 257, here's the place. Get out of my way Harry, let a security professional do his job." In a flash, Eddy had picked the lock, his gloved hands leaving no trace. They slipped inside, pulled their ski masks over their heads and stood for a moment, letting their eyes adjust to the dim light, waiting to see if there was any reaction to their entrance. After a bit they made out Rick, sprawled on a couch in dirty underwear, sleeping like a baby. Harry whispered, "I'm gonna go check the bedroom, collect his gun, you keep an eye on him." Eddy nodded and Harry moved across the trash-littered room and into the bedroom. In the light coming through the thin drapes what he saw nearly broke his heart. There, in the corner at the foot of the bed, that was where this fuck had made her sleep- on a pile of dirty blankets. Near to the blankets a potted red mini-rose had been smashed to the floor. It lay crushed in the remains of its pot and soil. The blankets were covered with the shredded remnants of the books she had told him to retrieve for her. A pitiful pile of clothes, ripped and torn, was nearby. Harry stood and slowed his breathing. These were things, mere objects, not worth killing for. His Baby Girl, the one priceless, holy treasure Rick might have destroyed, was safe and sound at the house. He went to the bedside table and pulled the Glock 9 out of the drawer, checked the clip, made sure the chamber was empty. He put the unloaded gun in one pocket, the clip in another. Hanging off a bed post he saw what he was hoping to find; picking up the ball gag he returned to the living room. * * * * * Rick Cox awoke from a pleasant dream of the beating he was going to give that little cunt when she came back to a most unpleasant reality as someone strapped her ball gag over his mouth. As he tried to get a grip on what and who, his hands were duct-taped before him and a blindfold put over his eyes. "Hey, Jimmy?" "Yeah, Paulie?""Are you sure the boss said we had to let him live? I mean, he's a douche-bag and me havin' to breath the same air as him? It's makin' me sick, Jimmy." "Yeah, unless he gets real fuckin' stupid, he lives." A sharp pain erupted in the side of Rick's head. "Hey you! You in there! You gonna get stupid?" He shook his head, wincing at the pain as he did so. "See, he ain't gonna oblige us by gettin' stupid. Alright, what's your name, Rick, yeah, Rick, hey, kinda sounds like 'prick', don't it Paulie? Yeah, Rick, see, what's happened is, Miss Carol has acquired a new owner. Miss Carol's new owner has, how would you put it, Paulie? Family connections? Yeah, 'family connections'." "He is most upset at the way you treated such a sweet little girl as Miss Carol. Look at him, Paulie, looks like he wants to say something. You think we ought to take out the gag, let him talk?""Nah, Jimmy, he might say something stupid.""Good point, Paulie. As I was saying, her new owner is very displeased and we are here to show his displeasure." Rick's bound arms were drug to the wooden arm of the couch. "Hold on, Jimmy, let me put these under there to muffle the sound." A pile of what felt like towels were put under his bound wrists. "Now Rick, this is gonna hurt a lot, but I'm gonna make it quick. Don't pass out though, you pass out and Paulie gets all weird and shit." Rick tried to shatter his teeth against the ball gag as the hammer slammed down on his right wrist. As the bones shattered and pulped, urine flowed down his leg. "Jimmy, I think he's tryin' to pass out!" "No, no, no, no, nooo, Ricky-boy, don't you go passin' out or it'll get real ugly. You stay with us." Gloved hands slapped his face hard, back and forth, until he could focus again. "Now then, let's get this part finished." As his left wrist suffered the fate of his right, he lost control of his bowels and gave in to the darkness. * * * * * He returned to consciousness as Paulie's voice murmured into his ear. "Ricky, Ricky-boy, time for you to wake up... there you are! Hey Jimmy, he's back. Now listen, you pass out one more time and I'm gonna smack you in the mouth with a pipe. You pass out again after that, and you're gonna be suckin' my dick with a mouth fulla broken teeth. I feel anything sharp, and I'll be telling the boss you got stupid. Got it? Let's review. You pass out again; I rearrange your dental work. Another time after that, you get to learn a new profession- cocksucker." Rick nodded furiously. "Alright Paulie, I think he gets the message. Now Rick, that was to teach you that big man hands don't need to be beating no little girls. Ever. I trust the lesson has been learned?" Rick looked like he was trying to break his own neck, he was nodding so hard. "Fine, now we're gonna remove this ball gag. You're gonna tell us where all your money is, any dope you got left, because Miss Carol deserves something for what you did to her, and any of her stuff you ain't already destroyed, where that is as well. We're going to collect it, and then we're going to call you an ambulance, go away and leave you alone. If you ever see Miss Carol again, you leave, wherever it is, as fast as you can. You don't even look at her, because if she sees you, and mentions it to her new owner, you will see us again and we'll be the last thing you ever see. Got me?" Rick's head spasmed back and forth. They removed his ball gag. * * * * * Twenty minutes later, a garbage bag of clothing rags, book scraps, some jewelry, a bundle of cash, a pound bag of dope and a pitiful dying flower sat by the front door. "Paulie?" "What, Jimmy?" "I don't think this is enough. This ain't enough. But yet Rick here says there's nothing else, and I believe him." Oil of Roses Ch. 03 "Jimmy, what about all them metal things he's got stuck in him? They worth anything?" Rick wore his vocal cords raw screaming behind the ball gag as 'Jimmy' used a pair of vice-grips to rip everything he had been pierced with out of his body, but he didn't pass out. * * * * * As they drove away, Harry pulled out the cheap cell phone he'd had Eddy get. "You're not actually gonna call 911 for him, are you?" Eddy asked, incredulous. "Yeah I am. I said we would. He's not going to be too interested in helping with any investigation, not after the scare we gave him, the cops won't push it because he's a scumbag, and I don't want his life on my conscience." "Fair enough. Remind me though, never to hurt anyone you love or anyone you're gonna love. I was wondering if you were going to go over the edge in there." "You and I both, Eddy. What were you gonna do if I did?" "Cover your back, you silly sumbitch, whaddaya think I'd do?" They were quiet for a moment. "Harry, you know you didn't have to do the pliers work? Hell, you didn't have to do the hammer work." "Yeah, I know." "I mean, I would've done it for you." "I know. But she isn't your girl. You were there to back me up and for witty repartee, and that was it." "Alright, I just wanted you to know that I would've." "I do. Thanks Eddy. You want the money, the dope, split both, you want all of both, what?" "Dope I got right now, money I'm short of. If it's all right with you, gimme the money, you take the dope. You're real tense; you need to start smokin' again. When you gonna invite me over, let me meet Carol?" "As soon as I'm sure that once you know my address, you're not gonna get drunk and show up there, middle of the night, naked, middle of my lawn, jerking off and singing 'Tra-la-la-boom-de-ay, We Had No School Today'. Soon as I'm sure that'll never happen... again... you'll be welcome. Until then, we meet somewhere else." "You wound me, man. The only reason that happened more than once is... well, it was just so goddamned funny. So that's why your parents moved y'all." "No, that's not why. They wanted to move anyway. But it is why I never told you the new address." They drove over the river, flinging all the equipment they had used, the cell phone and Rick's gun far out into the water. As Eddy scoured the truck for anything else potentially incriminating, Harry called a nursery. He gave them his address, careful not to let Eddy hear. "Alright, what do you have in small, potted red roses? 'Chattooga', 'Camden', 'Ace of Diamonds', 'Trickstar'... do any of those have a strong fragrance? The last two do? Alright, I need, oh, an 'Ace of Diamonds' sent to that address..." And then he called a florist. "...every red rose you have in the shop right now. Yes, that's right I said every red rose you have. I need the card to read 'Baby Girl – we're out, we're coming home – be there soon – Harry'. How soon can you get those delivered? That's not fuckin' soon enough. I'm willing to pay for speed. That's much better. Alright, here's my credit card information..." * * * * * They stopped at a Walgreen's on the way back to Eddy's place and then Harry went in and visited with his old friend. While he was there, he used what he'd picked up at Walgreen's to do some cleaning. * * * * * He pulled into the driveway satisfied, but tired to his very bones. Keeping a rein on the emotional storm inside him while they'd been at Rick's had been exhausting and he was feeling the strain. He walked in to a living room full of roses, to be attacked by a small naked woman who climbed his body to plant kisses all over his face. He leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor, depositing both of them there safely. When the kissing storm had passed, she looked into his eyes adoringly. "Have I told you sir, any time recently, that you are the most wonderful owner any pet could wish for?" "Uh, no, but I got that general feeling while you where kissing me and using your whole body to massage me." "I'm sorry sir, may I correct you?" "Yes?" "Sir, that wasn't massage. Tonight, I'll show you massage." "It's a date. But for now, well, Baby Girl, I'm sorry." Harry dragged the garbage bag over. "The bastard had already ripped up all your clothes, your books, killed your rose." He began to pull the detritus out of the sack. "But he did donate this to the cause." The dope was placed in her lap. "Just to say he was sorry." "And he did donate something else. I don't know how you're going to take this, but I felt I needed to do this. You see, I shattered both his wrists, so he won't be hitting anyone for a long time, but it wasn't enough so..." He placed before her a stoppered glass bottle, full of clear fluid, a mass of metal gleaming at the bottom. "Harry, what are those?" Carol asked in a calm voice. "Every piece of metal he had in any piercing. Every stud, spike and ring... I ripped them all out with pliers, got all the Ricky bits off of them over at Eddy's; put them in that 91% alcohol solution. They're yours. Do with them what you will." "Harry Grimes," she said as she sidled up next to him on the floor, "me gonna love you long time for this." The tears started to flow down her face. "Is he alive?" "He was when we left him and I called 911 and gave them the address, so I know help was sent. Further deponent sayeth not." "That's good. I wouldn't have loved you any less if you'd killed him, but I wouldn't have loved you any more either." "As for the rest of it Harry, well, after our shopping a few days ago, I already have more clothes than I had when I lived with him. The books I can replace and you've already replaced the rose. I put it the kitchen window." She got up, picked up the bottle and headed off. "What are you going to do with that?" "Put it next to my rose, silly." "In the kitchen window?""You said I could do with it as I willed, and I will see it every day, many times a day, and I will be reminded again how much my Owner loves me." "You know, you're a little barbarian." "No sir, I'm your little barbarian." * * * * * That night, they floated in a cloud of rose scent in the dimly lit bedroom as Carol slowly and lovingly prepared to work on relaxing Harry. "Baby Girl, I can't believe an old stoner like me hasn't got a single pipe or pack of papers anywhere in this house so we can indulge. A whole pound of dope and no way to smoke it." "Oh, oh, oh... I am so scatterbrained sometimes. Sir, I apologize. If you would smoke, hold but a moment." She leapt up from the bed and rushed into the other room. She returned hidden behind a tall but narrow crate she was carrying. She gently lowered it by the side of the bed. "This arrived today with this note." Harry took the note from her hands. "Mr. Grimes, This is a small token of my esteem, to express my appreciation for your visit and your business. Remember, some excesses are meant to be reveled in. Madame Cornelius" Inside the box was a beautiful faux antique hookah. * * * * * A bowl later, Harry lay on his stomach as Carol worked on his back, kneading a lightly clove-scented oil into his skin. As she worked, she kept an eye on his cock, which she had placed pointed down towards his feet, visible between his legs. As it stirred to life, she rolled him over, sucked it in her mouth and down her throat. She held nothing back, working it like she was starving, milking it while pistoning up and down upon it like a machine. Harry lay there, feeling her bring his orgasm on by force, her wet and glistening cunt next to him on the bed, out of reach of his tongue as he longed to fuck her with his face, shoving it deep into her folds, tongue thrust forward to penetrate her. He didn't want to relax, he wanted to eat her, he wanted to fuck her and taste her at the same time. He wanted to bury himself so deep in her cunt that it would be like returning to the womb and the force of his desire surprised him as it roared over him in a primal wave. This was not a night for him to be passive, to lay back and relax, no, this was a night for him to drink of his lover's delights. He reached for her legs and dragged her on top of him. She latched onto his thighs to keep her head close to his cock as she took him down her throat faster and faster. As he positioned her on top of himself, spreading her plump thighs to either side of his chest, he realized he was still out of range and didn't have enough traction to scrunch himself up in the bed. Moving his hand to her hips he tried to drag her closer but her grip on him tightened as she fought to keep her mouth on his dick. She was sucking his cock like her life depended on, desperate to get him off, relaxed, so she could get back to the massage. Tightening his hold, he pulled her backwards. Her teeth raked his dick as her mouth was torn off of it and it felt good to him. Forcefully he brought her cunt back onto his face, his nose nestling within her, his face firmly framed by her thighs as his tongue flickered out to caress her clit. "But sir," Carol cried, "this was to be just for you, to please you, to relax you!" "Baby Girl," he said from between her legs, "do you really think I'm doing this for you?" He returned to his fun, beginning to drive her orgasm as she had been driving his. As he found their rhythm, he felt her wrap her hands around his shaft and began to pump him at the same pace, bending his cock back to point at her head. Now that the tug-of-pet was ended, his hands were free to run up and down her curvy form, caressing her velvety skin. From her lush and lovely breasts to her sweet cunt to her tantalizing ass, her body was such a feast of delights. Were there a thousand years left to them, he could not grow tired of her. He continued to lash her clitoris with his tongue, fueled by the growing moan that came from her like a siren's warning wail. He felt her orgasm approaching as she spasmed erratically. He shifted slightly and began to fuck her with his tongue, ramming his face into her, his tongue out-thrust to the point of pain A growl rumbled through, up and out of her she began to cum, fiercely, violently, thrashing about atop him. Taking a deep breath, thick with her scent and moistness, he sucked her clit into his mouth, rasping his tongue across it. She ground her pussy back into his face and down, cutting off his air as she tried to use her clit like a dick, fucking him in the mouth. Periodically he lifted her for a breath and then back down. Her juices bathed his face in a flood as the tongue and clitoris duel continued. His hands clutched at her perfect ass and he scraped his fingernails along the cheeks, eliciting another frenzy of orgasm from his most precious one. Finally, even through her spastic pumping, his cock could take no more and he came, spurting all over her arms and face. As his pulsations slowed, she managed to wriggle free of his grasp and spun to face him from the end of the bed. She licked at some of the cum on her arm. "Ick, already cold. Harry, beloved, sir, has anyone ever told you you're a bastard?" "Many people, Baby Girl, but none so beautiful as you." She finished cleaning herself with a towel and began to lick his face clean. As she continued he pulled the sheet over the two of them. He was afraid the massage would have to wait for another day and he thanked God there were so many days yet to come. Oil of Roses Ch. 04 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Effusive thanks to Holly, the beloved and erotic Sister Decadence for her encouragement, editorial review and kind words. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. Thanks to John Hasty for his prompt and brilliant editing. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board.. The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. * * * * * Dr. Margo Wohler-Sapperstein. What a joke, Margo thought to herself. All her life she had been driven by the will of her parents, driven to achieve, to excel, to succeed, to exceed. Even now, even after their deaths, she felt their cold hands on her life, steering her future from beyond the grave. They hadn't lived to see her move away from the family practice she loved into cosmetic surgery. But they'd planned it. They hadn't lived to see her marry Benjamin in what could only be charitably called a wedding as it was truly more of a merger of their two medical careers. But they'd planned it. Her brief flirtation with freedom in college, a blown-off semester in which she'd finally lost her virginity, smoked a lot of pot and drank a lot of booze, had earned her a summer stay in an institution where the children of wealthy parents went to 'rest', courtesy of one of her father's deacons. That had put her right back on track. She remembered the rats in the mazes from her psych classes. Well, there she was, except there was no treat and no exit. * * * * * Harry woke up to wondrous smells, cutting through the scent of roses. Coffee… bacon… perhaps toast as well. He curled back over on to his side, just to close his eyes for a moment. He was sure she'd call him when it was ready. * * * * * "Harry, Harry… wake up, breakfast is here." He opened his eyes, amazed that he'd actually drifted back to sleep. Then again, why should he be surprised? The last few days had been very… taxing. The naked angelic creature with a breakfast tray smiled at him. "Come on sir; let me help you sit up. I've brought you breakfast in bed, although I repeat my assertation of last evening that you are a bastard and now add that you probably don't deserve this." "Of course I don't deserve it, you silly girl," he said as he sat up against the headboard, "no more than I deserve you. Both you and breakfast in bed are gifts that I am blessed to receive." "Harry, you are the sweetest man alive." As the two of them ate breakfast from the tray, they discussed the plans for the day. There were already things that Carol's arrival, and the habits they were forming together, made essential, such as something to soften the impact of their frequent encounters on the hardwood floors. And now that Harry had resolved to live in the house instead of haunt it, there were changes he wanted to make. "Baby Girl, I want a bigger bathtub, one big enough for you and me both, a bigger shower as well." "Oh, break my heart Harry!" She smiled. "But if you're going to enlarge the facilities, go ahead and plan for three. Don't forget, I'm still looking for you a nice woman for me to tongue-fuck." "I'm sure that somewhere in the deviant brain of yours, that made sense. How do you feel about hot tubs?" "How do you feel about me blowing you whenever, wherever you want from now until the end of time? Oh, wait, you've already got that… uh, well… yes, yes I love hot tubs, hot tubs are one of God's greatest gifts to us poor souls down here." "Ok, so, hot tub it is." * * * * * Margo's brain had run circles around itself most of the night before and after a few fitful hours of sleep, it was back to its old tricks. Her cell phone rang and the ring tones told her it was Benjamin. She let voice mail get it, wondering what creative new lie he'd spin to explain why he wasn't going to be home from the medical convention in Las Vegas for another couple of days? The last excuse had been a special seminar on bypass surgery. In the spirit of the venture, she was placing her bets on an emergency consultation on a famous entertainer. Yeah, he'd be consulting all right. He'd be consulting with his dick on the case of someone famous like Candyie from the Mustang Strip Club. He liked them dumb and blond, with tits as big as the Goodyear blimp and as natural as Cool Whip. No shortage of that type in Vegas. There he'd be, a short, obnoxious Jewish doctor, fucking his way through their joint account. She had grown up very rarely needing to ask for help with anything. She was most often one of the ones people went to for help. But now she desperately needed someone to talk to, someone at least somewhat objective. All the 'friends' she had now wouldn't begin to understand her problem. Why would she want a life other than the one she had? She was making lots of money, had an elite clientele, her husband left her alone, she could fool around the same as him, and did they mention the money? She wanted to talk to Harry, but that felt… wrong. Here he was, beginning of a new relationship, calls and asks her a favor and then just to even the scales she dumps this load of emotional shit on him. It just didn't feel right. Problem was, she didn't see as how she had any choice. * * * * * The cell rang and Carol scampered over to grab it. "Hello, Harry Grimes' phone, Carol speaking… Dr. Wohler? Well of course the offer is still open. Don't be silly, it's not going to disappear after a day, it's not going to disappear at all. Uh, how does 8 this evening sound to you? Good. And you have the address, know where we are? Good. Do you have any problem with something done with lamb? Yes, the store had some lovely chops. We'll see you then. Goodbye Dr. Wohler." She closed the phone. "Harry, we're having a guest for dinner this evening" she said with a smirk. * * * * * Margo took one of her Valium and in an increasingly common act of stupidity, washed it down with a glass of wine, at 9 in the morning. She was a trained physician, she knew better. She just wanted to sleep for a bit before supper. * * * * * Their day of shopping, once it began, went by in a blur and they arrived home late, leading a delivery truck with their rug purchases. The skies which had spent the day in a leaden gloom as a stalled cool front threatened to move through, darkened and gave birth to sheets of rain not ten minutes after the last of their purchases was inside. * * * * * Margo awoke, feeling somewhat better. She ran herself through the shower, threw on some comfortable clothes and headed out the door. The rain began before she made it to the highway. * * * * * "Harry, do you trust me," Carol asked as they shifted the living room around, making the center of the room a large open space, rolling out the carpets then flinging throw rugs and pillows with abandon. "Implicitly." "All right then. Harry, you've seen me read people. It's something I'm pretty good at. If you see me start to put moves on Dr. Wohler tonight, please don't interfere. Unless you don't want me to and if that's the case, you tell me now. I'll stake 10 hours of sobbing sexual frustration that by the end of the night the three of us are going to be in the same bed, happily making love. If I'm wrong and I start moving on her, when I'm rebuffed I'll back off so fast she'll wonder if I really made a move at all. But I'm not going to have to back off, Harry." "Ok Baby Girl, you're on. But if you're wrong, it'll be 5 hours of sobbing sexual frustration because after that, I won't be able to hold out any longer." "As you wish sir, and if I were you, I'd bet on her showing up early and I'd bet on a lot of crying." * * * * * As Margo drove through the downpour, the second guessing began. What was she doing going this early? The weather was a factor, she wanted to make sure she was there on time, she wanted to pick up wine on the way, surely they wouldn't mind it if she was early and helped with supper. Why was she dumping this on the two of them? Because she didn't have anybody else and that was just too goddamn pathetic to ever say out loud. Because she needed Harry's help again? Well, that was better at least, and true. And if it was too much of an imposition she'd apologize profusely and back on out the door. So she picked up some wine and then before she knew it and before another full round of second guessing had had a chance to go around, she was there. She parked across the street and looked at her watch. 4:30 PM. She was fucking insane! What was she doing here three and a half hours early? This was beyond pathetic. She just needed to go home and take a few more Valium, drink her bottle of wine and get some sleep, everything would look better in the morning. But it wouldn't, because she knew how many Valium she wanted to take out of the bottle and she wasn't going to feel better in the morning, if she had her way she wasn't going to feel anything in the goddamn morning. She should stop that college drama queen bullshit. She wasn't going to kill herself. But she wanted to! But she wasn't going to and she knew it. She was going to go home and be a good little girl and keep on taking it like she always had and be what everyone always expected her to be and she'd make everyone happy. The tears started and she let them come for awhile because she knew she needed to cry but then they'd gone on long enough and it was time to stop and she couldn't and the crying became sobbing and screaming and she beat her hands against the wheel because it just wouldn't stop and she could hear her car horn in time with her hitting the wheel but it didn't matter because the tears just wouldn't stop… * * * * * Harry and Carol heard the honking through the steady pounding of the rain. They went to the front and stood out on their porch, peering through the sheets of grey water. The outline of a car could faintly be made out across the street. "Baby Girl, better go get some of the candles out of our hall closet. I don't think this rain is going to let up any time soon and that almost guarantees we're going to lose power for some reason. I'm going to go see if someone needs help out there." Harry briefly considered an umbrella or a raincoat, but a sense of urgency told him he really didn't have the time. * * * * * Margo left off hitting the wheel with her hands and entwined her fingers through her hair. The tears and hoarse, trapped screeching grew louder as she spiraled further into hopelessness. She had to stop, she had to stop this nonsense and quit making a scene and get out of here before anyone came to check on what the problem was because you did not make scenes you just did as you were told did what God wanted you to do did what was right did what was expected of you and if you weren't happy that was too bad because happiness wasn't that important why just look at me, Margo, I've been married to your father for twenty-five years and I've never been happy- Her car door opened and someone began to shake her back and forth. Over her own screaming and crying and the sound of the rain she could hear someone shouting her name. -twenty five years I've lived with that sour-faced woman, Margo, and what I wanted didn't matter because preachers who divorce can kiss any hope of finding or keeping a church goodbye so we've stayed together and haven't spoken to each other much except concerning you Margo, we agree on what's best for you- She felt herself being lifted out of the car, held close to someone's chest, some man, someone she felt safe with and she was getting soaked in the cool rain but still the screaming wouldn't stop. -you're all that's kept us together, Margo, because if I'd had my way I would've left him in an instant and to hell with his career do you know what's it like to be a preacher's wife, to be judged by every bitch in the congregation, half of them wanting to sleep with him, all of them thinking they're paying him enough for you to devote all your time to the church as well, his mistakes and human errors being judged with a forgiving eye because he's "sanctified" since he's the pastor but as the pastor's wife you get no such dispensation- He was carrying her somewhere. He had turned her face towards him so she didn't drown as her throat gave voice to her pain because the rain wasn't showing any signs of stopping and neither was her breakdown. -we endured this, I endured this, for you Margo, for you to succeed, to be someone, to have the life we want for you, I put up with that woman for all these years, never gave in to the temptation to sleep with any other woman, and I had offers, dealt with difficult congregations- She was under cover and had been laid down on the ground. She still felt safe as hands removed her clothes and began wrapping her in towels. Then she was carried inside and laid on something soft in a candlelit room as the lightning crashed and her screams went on. Two pair of arms encircled her. -and we did it for you Margo we did it for you so you could have the life we wanted for you and this is the life we wanted for you, you have the life we wanted for you, you'll keep the life we wanted for you, it's your life now and it's the life we wanted for you and it's the life you should want for you because it's the life we suffered to give you and it's the life that makes everyone else happy and it's the life you have, it's the life you'll keep because you don't make scenes and you don't rock the boat and you- "SHUT UP, CAN'T YOU SEE YOU'RE KILLING ME?" -don't be ridiculous Margo, you're just being dramatic again and there's no call for that kind of behavior, you're making a scene Margo, you're making a scene, just like when that boy attacked you, there's nothing really wrong Margo, nothing really happened, you should stop making a scene- "HE TRIED TO RAPE ME!" -but he didn't succeed, did he, so nothing really happened and there's no reason to make a scene, you need to stop, people will look at you, just forget it, nothing really happened- "SHUT UP! GO AWAY! YOU'RE DEAD!" -but our love for you will stay with you forever- "I DON'T WANT YOUR LOVE! HE TRIED TO RAPE ME! HE DID!" Seventeen years of repressed rage, shame and hatred flowed free as the old wound was finally lanced. Margo's tears continued but they had changed to tears of cleansing as they helped to wash away the evil infection begun by what had been done to her, knowingly or unknowingly, by her parents. Her parents, in a very real sense had succeeded in raping her where Cliff Jeffreys had failed. * * * * * As Margo started to quiet, a half hour later, the lightning and thunder moved away, but the rain continued on. Harry and Carol stared at each other across Margo's sobbing form, shell-shocked survivors of a woman's long overdue fight with her past. "Baby Girl," Harry said, "I never saw that coming." "Sir," she replied, "I saw something coming, but I couldn't have imagined it was something like that." "Why don't you go run her a bath? Get her relaxed in a nice warm bath and then put her to bed in the guest room." A tiny voice emerged from in-between her quieting cries. "No." Her breathing slowly calmed. "I need to go. You two have been wonderful, but I've been a major bother and I need to get home." As she brought her mind into the here-and-now, she took stock of her surroundings. The breeze coming through the open front door caused the candles to flicker, their dancing light shifting highlights across the room. She sat in a nest of pillows; Harry, wearing a bathrobe, wrapped around her on one side, Carol, wearing nothing but a leather collar, wrapped around her on the other. "Dr. Wohler," Carol said, "you don't need to go anywhere. That's your shame talking and you have nothing to be ashamed of. You were in a lot of pain, more pain than we could have imagined. You reached a moment of crisis and I'm just thanking God you were here so we could help you. No one ever needs to be alone at a time like this and I'm willing to bet you anything that Dr. Sapperstein is not at home. Am I right?" "No, you're right Carol, he's in Las Vegas on a whore hunt." Her eyes snapped open as she realized what she'd just said. "I mean a medical conference. He's in Las Vegas for a medical conference." Carol took Margo's hand and raised it to her mouth. Smoothly and delicately she laid a kiss upon it. "No Dr. Wohler-" "Please call me Margo." "No Margo, you meant he's in Las Vegas on a whore hunt." She released Margo's hand and reached up, turning Margo to face her. "Margo, Harry's your friend; you trust him and love him as a friend. You have no image to maintain, no illusions to weave for him. He's your friend, and he loves you for who you are. I want to be your friend, as far as I'm concerned I am your friend, and you could give me no greater gift than your friendship. You have no illusions or images to keep up for me. I love you for who you are." "Reciprocally Margo, we have no illusions or images to shield us from you. There is no need." "Harry and I aren't a couple in the usual sense. I'm his property, willingly, and I serve him in all ways. I'm his pet, his sex toy, the lady of his house. It is my intent to seduce you tonight, both for my own pleasure as well as to prepare the way for Harry so that he may have you, to prove to Harry that you do want him, and that he does want you." Harry stiffened and began to protest. "Sir, I asked you to trust my instincts." "Yes, but-" "No Harry," said Margo, shocked at the words that were coming out of her mouth, "you should listen to her. I do want you. Let her continue." "Thank you, Margo. Please don't feel pressured, don't feel rushed. This seduction will take some time, and you can stop it, up to a point, by simply saying 'no', getting up and leaving. If you leave, please leave for honest reasons, not out of fear, not out of lies you tell yourself, not out of panic, not because it's 'wrong' for you to be here or because normal people don't do this kind of thing. If you leave, leave because you're not ready, or because you don't feel that way about one or both of us, or leave because you don't want this to happen at all." "Margo, the point will be reached where tonight's seduction will be unstoppable. I'll let you know when that point's approaching, and if you don't want things to continue, you'll be responsible for leaving at that time. Past that point, I will have you and Harry will have you, and you will have us." "Fair enough, Carol… although I suppose there's a pet name for you." "Two actually, 'Baby Girl' when I'm being good," she leaned forward, placing her lips gently on Margo's, licking along them with her tongue, "or 'Little Cunt' when I've been bad." Carol softly nuzzled her mouth into Margo's ear. "But you'll have to have Harry's permission to use them," she whispered. A visible shiver ran down Margo's body. Harry sat, startled and amazed by what was transpiring. It didn't surprise him when his Baby Girl was right, normally, but he had been sure she was far out in left field on this prediction. He felt his cock stirring beneath his robes. He'd never particularly been a fan of the 'two girls, one man' fantasy, although it made for pretty photo spreads; then again, he'd never actually believed it would happen to him either, not even with Baby Girl announcing her clear intentions in that direction. But now…now it was time to sit back and examine his feelings. Oil of Roses Ch. 04 Margo felt Harry's dick moving across her thigh. A part of her yearned to reach down and stroke it, accelerating the proceedings but she couldn't, not yet, she wasn't ready. She felt fresh and new, like she had that semester in college. There were things to try and explore, possibilities stretching out in front of her that she hadn't been able to imagine mere hours before. Like the young girl at her side. She had never seriously considered a female lover, although she'd fantasized about it on more than one occasion, and during that semester at college, she'd, well, she'd had a crush on a female undergrad teaching assistant, a crush she'd never acted on, but now here it was and what was she going to do? And what happened when she chickened out? If it were just her and Harry, well… well, she'd probably talk herself into leaving no matter how much she wanted him, but it didn't seem that Carol was going to make that all that easy to do. If she left, it would be because she made a clear and conscious decision to, it was because she had decided that it was not the time, not the place, not the people… it wouldn't be in a blind panic or out of fear. Her ruminations were interrupted. "Sir, as it seems I'm holding Margo up at present, could you go retrieve the hookah?" Margo realized she had slumped against Carol and was being held in her arms as her head rested on her shoulder. Carol was stroking her hair while planting gentle kisses on the side of her face. Harry got up and ambled off to the bedroom. "Margo, I apologize for my rudeness when I invited you to supper. Even though I make no secret of my disdain for your husband nor beg pardon for it, what I did was undeniably rude and for that you have my sincerest regrets. You have but to decide a suitable punishment and I'm sure Harry will approve it and either administer it himself or allow you to." "Carol, there's no need to apologize and certainly no need for punishment-" "Margo, my owner has said, and I agree with him, that I was rude. When one is rude, one apologizes. That's how it works in polite societies. Both my pet names are child-like, and when a child misbehaves, a child should be punished. When I misbehave, I am punished, and I like it that way." "I'm afraid I can't think of any suitable punishments, sorry." Carol's hand caressed down Margo's belly to the very beginnings of her soft pubic hair. She whispered throatily into Margo's ear, "Well, you could demand that I lick your pussy for hours and hours and hours… I'd just hate that." She sinuously slid around Margo's body and began to flick her tongue over Margo's nipple. Putting her lips over it she murmured "Or you could make me bathe you all over with my tongue. Oh Margo, that was just suck." Carol grabbed one of the roses Harry had sent her and used the flower to tease the inside of Margo's thighs. She ran her mouth around Margo's neck, kissing and licking. "Or if you really wanted to punish me, really show me who's boss, you could have me use my new strap-on to fuck you for as long as you could stand it, while I fucked your mouth with my tongue." Margo was moist, more than moist and it was all she could do not to attack her little seductress. "Alright, uh… how are you at backrubs?" she stammered. "She's an excellent masseuse" Harry said, returning from the bedroom carrying the hookah. "How would you know, sir," Carol replied, "you didn't let me even get started last night, much less anywhere close to finished." "Baby Girl, you writhing on top of me as I buried my face between your delectable thighs was the best massage I could have had last night, and I know you're a superb masseuse because I've found nothing that involves pleasing me that you don't do exceptionally well." "Sir, I think there's a flaw in your logic somewhere but I shan't go looking for it." Margo wondered at her ease as these two, so obviously in love with each other, discussed their intimacy in front of her. She fantasized about being that at ease with them both, that comfortable, of Harry above her, making love to her while Carol… well, she wasn't' exactly sure where Carol would be or what she would be doing, but she'd be there as well, and she'd be involved and it would be decadently delightful.. But the fantasy died an ugly death as her insecurities and the poisons of the past roared up out of the dark places of her mind. "Uh, I think I need to leave, let you two be alone." She got up, clutching at towels, trying to keep herself covered. Carol shot to her feet. "No Margo," she said, gently slipping her arms around Margo's body, her hands caressing Margo's back and gliding down to her ass, "your shame and your fear are talking again. That's not you speaking. Remember that whether you stay or go, no matter what, we're your friends and we love you. You don't need to hide from friends who love you for what you are. You have nothing to fear from friends who love you for what you are." Margo found herself dropping towels as her hands went around Carol, her fingers becoming entangled in Carol's hair. "Besides, Margo," Carol said, teasing Margo's nipple with the tip of her tongue, "I still owe you a massage." Margo felt herself drop to her knees before Carol and brought Carol's mouth to her own. She kissed Carol, softly, tentatively, delicately, until a hunger arose from inside her and the kiss became a beast of desire and she kissed Carol as though feeding on her. Carol broke the kiss. "Not so fast Margo, you're not ready yet and you know it. Lay down on your stomach." Margo lay down, watching the rain out the open front door. "Harry, I need to go get my supplies. Keep Margo company; let her know you love her." As Carol scurried off, Harry lay down on the floor beside Margo, his front pressed against her side. They gazed into each other's eyes across a bridge of inches. "So, do you feel anything for me Harry?" she asked. He caressed her face with his hand. "Of course I do. We weren't close in high school and when we lost track of each other in college; it didn't feel like any great loss to me. But then when we reconnected after you got out of med school… I don't know Margo, I got to know you, grew to love you as a friend, lost you again when I married that-" "Cum-guzzling dumpster slut?" Margo interjected. Harry laughed. "Well, I was going to say 'skank' but your phrase works as well, when I married her, I lost a lot of my life that was important to me. If I'd realized how important it was, I might not have let her seduce me away from it. You, Eddy, some other good people. As I'm finding out a lot recently, I had no idea how lucky I was and how much she cost me." "That girl of yours is really something Harry." "Yeah she is. The most precious of gifts and I love her so much it makes my soul ache. It freaks me sometimes though that she's so empathic, so good at reading people. She knew you'd be early today and knew you'd be emotionally distraught. She knew you wanted me when I was sure she was delusional. She knew I wanted you before I knew it. And I don't mean 'wanted' you as a normal male wants to bang everything female that walks the face of the earth, I mean 'wanted you', and you specifically. You're a dear friend and I love you very much and I want to make love with you." "You want me, Harry?" Her hand slid down her side to his cock, which was oh so subtly poking her in the thigh. "Why Harry, I think you do want me," she said, smiling mischievously. She brought her hand up and clasped it with her other out in front of her. "Harry, did you bring that pipe out to look at, or to smoke from?" * * * * * Carol came out of the kitchen carrying a tray fruit and crackers, a bottle of wine under her arm. She'd dumped her supplies next to Margo, unnoticed by either her or Harry as the two old friends talked together. The cool wet breeze flowed more freely through the house as she'd opened the kitchen window and the candles had blown out, but even with the rain there was just enough light to see by. As she came around the corner Harry was loading the pipe. They were going to lose a lot of smoke in the breeze, but they had a lot of smoke to lose. She put the tray down and wine down, dropping to her knees next to Margo. "Sir, I have a large favor to beg of you." "Yes, Baby Girl?" "Sir, Margo will be relaxing and doesn't need to be getting up and down or shifting around all that much, and I'll be working on helping her to relax; well sir, I was wondering if you could handle feeding us and such." "Not a problem Baby Girl, but first you get started on her and let's all relax some." As Carol began to slowly soothe the tensions out of Margo's body, Harry held the hose for her and then for Margo, then took a hit himself, continuing on until the bowl was done. Carol lost herself in that special place where all of her was focused on helping a loved one feel good. She could work tirelessly in that place for hours in a light trance, her whole being in tune with the special spirit within her care. She talked with Margo as she worked, learning the story of Margo's near rape, how Harry and Eddy had stopped it. "Carol," Margo murmured from the floor, "Harry's one of the best men I know. I understand completely why you love him." "And now I understand some of the depth of your love for him," Carol replied. Slightly embarrassed, Harry began popping fruit into their mouths and the next half hour passed with the feeding of their bodies. "Harry," Carol said, "I'm getting a little thirsty, could I have some wine?" "Did you bring wineglasses out?" he asked. "No, I'm afraid we're doing this like college students," Carol replied, "it's chug-it-from-the-bottle time." But there was no easy way for Harry to pour it into Margo's mouth, and Carol's attention was firmly fixed on Margo's body beneath her hands. "You're going to have to baby-bird it, Harry" Carol said. "What?" "You know, the way some mother birds feed their young?" It dawned on him what she meant. Taking a mouthful of wine he leaned over and kissed Carol, pushing the wine into her mouth. The kiss continued after the wine was gone. Then it was Margo's turn. Taking another mouthful of wine, he laid down on the floor next to her head, but there was still no easy angle of approach. "Here Harry, let me help you. Time to roll over Margo; let me work on your front." As Margo lay on her back, gazing up, Harry bent over and tenderly kissed her, dribbling the wine down her throat. The kiss continued and as it became deeper and stronger, a realization came to Harry. He broke the kiss, regretfully. "Carol's right Margo, you're not ready." "What do you mean I'm not ready?" Margo asked, an edge of tears creeping into her voice. "I want you, I want her, you want me, she wants me, she wants you and you want her. What are you two waiting for, a sign from God?" "I don't know Margo, I don't know how to explain it, maybe Carol does… Baby Girl?" "Margo, there are still things that are going to get in the way and make you feel bad about yourself, that are going to have you putting a negative stain on what's going to happen tonight. You don't need that. Raise up your head." As Margo did so, Carol shifted to sitting cross-legged and slid to where she could support Margo's head in her lap. Softly and with infinite tenderness she began to massage Margo's face and head. After some time, as the frustration flowed away from Margo, she spoke. "Margo, what's still blocking you? What do you need to have happen for you to feel completely good about this? Even if it's the thinnest fiction to support the flimsiest justification, we can make it happen." Margo lay there, afraid to speak, afraid to open up the last doors inside. "Margo, please, you're safe, you're with friends-" "I'm with family." The tears rolled down Carol's face. "You're right; you are with family, the kind that wants you to do what you wish with your life. The kind that will love you just the way you are, no matter what. The kind that will always welcome you with open arms. The family you choose, and that chooses you, that's who you're with. Now tell me, baby, what do you need?" "I need… it not to be… my fault. I mean, I know that sounds sick, especially with my past, but I don't want to be like him, I don't want to be out looking for someone to fuck, I need it to not be my fault." Carol leaned down close to Margo's face. "You know we're at that point of no return, don't you? "Yes. I'm not going. I'm not running away." "And who is it that captures you, taking you away to be ravished at their leisure?" Margo's voice dropped to the quietest whisper. "Pirates." * * * * * After Margo drifted to sleep on the pillows, Carol covered her with a blanket. "Harry, it's time to make the bedroom into Captain Harry's cabin. Now, she's going to resist, and resist pretty seriously, because she's got a lot invested in not coming out of this looking like her prick of a husband. It needs to not be her fault and if she doesn't protest hard enough, it still will be her fault. Think of this as a romantic rape. She'll meet us at least a third of the way, I think, but we're going to have to fight for the other two thirds. Whatever we do, we don't break character. You're the Captain and I'm First Mate… Twat, yeah, First Mate Twat. She wants the fantasy, she wants pirates, she wants rape in the whole fuzzy 'bodice-ripper' definition and we'll give it to her." * * * * * Benjamin was dead and she was dancing around his grave, naked, and Carol and Harry were there dancing with her and the three of them dancing was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen, they were like savages, celebrating the death of a hated foe and they collapsed onto his grave and Carol had Harry's cock in her mouth and Harry was reaching for Margo like she'd wanted him to since he'd come in to the office with Carol (NO) since she realized what a shit Benjamin was (NO) since she'd realized the disaster he was heading into by marrying Angie (NO) since they'd reconnected after she got out of med school (NO) since senior year when she dared to believe in knights in shining armor again and he didn't have to say a word because the love was right there in his eyes like it had been when they were laying on the floor talking and now Carol was licking at her pussy and she opened her legs because she loved Carol too and she knew how much Carol and Harry loved each other and now there was no reason she couldn't be there with them because Benjamin was dead and – She woke up as she was hoisted into the air and thrown over a shoulder. "What do you think you're doing?" she squealed. "I hear too much squawking, Twat. Gag her," said Harry. "Aye aye, Cap'n. Now now Miss, ye don't want to be pissin' off the Cap'n this early in the day, ye do and it'll go rough on ye by the time the sun passes over the yardarm." That was Carol's voice, she was sure of it, she thought as a knotted rag was placed in her mouth and tied behind her head. Why couldn't she see anything? Oh, a blindfold. She began to reach up to take it off only to find that her hands were cuffed together in shackles of some kind. But she could still bring them both up and peel off the blindfold… Her hands were jerked down and she heard the clanking of a chain. "Now Miss," Carol said, "don't be tryin' to take off what rightfully belongs on. Ye'll see when we wants ye to see." She tried to kick with her feet only to find them bound together like her wrists. "Steady now, wench," Harry growled, "I've got no desire to have to be beatin' ye for kickin' me somewhere delicate." She heard a door open and then they were… it felt like they were outside! She was naked on Harry's shoulder and they were outside! She began to shout incoherently through the gag and to struggle violently. A sharp pain landed across her ass like lightning. She cried out, tears springing from her eyes as though they were fountains. "Bitch, I said steady. Ye make any more fuss and there'll be a whole lot more like that one waitin' for ye when we get back to the ship." The ship? They walked for quite some way outside, the rain cascading over her naked flesh, before Harry walked up an incline that swayed and bowed underneath him… like a gangplank? And then they were under shelter, no more rain was falling on her and she smelled… spices? Cinnamon, cloves… she smelled apples and lemons and limes… and something else, the air was thick with the smell of pot, it was like it was being used as incense… they weren't at Harry's house, she couldn't smell any roses. Where the fuck had they taken her? As she was shifted from one shoulder to the other, she lashed out with her arms, her elbows connecting the back of her captor's head with a resounding thud. "GOD...s mercy, ye daft bitch! What are ye tryin' to do, get strapped across the end of a cannon? Oh, it's the lash for ye and no escapin' it." She was carried through rooms or hallways or corridors and then dumped unceremoniously back on her feet. After being off them so long, she nearly fell to the floor but a strong arm grabbed her manacles and pulled her back upright. "Twat!" "Yes Cap'n?" "Prepare to hang her up, but first put her in some padded gear; don't want the merchandise damaged anymore than absolutely necessary before sale." "Aye aye, Cap'n" Padded cuffs replaced the metal fetters on her ankles. As the same switch was being made on her wrists, Twat, or maybe it was Carol, whispered in her ear. "Here now Miss, ye got off to a real bad start with the Cap'n and no mistake. But if ye does your time at the post, nice and quiet, give me a chance to put him in a better frame o' mind, well, ye may escape the lash yet. Now I'm gonna take this gag out of your mouth, don't be making me regret my kindness." The gag was slipped out from between her teeth. Her arms were raised above her head and fastened there, her legs fastened in place, open, by the ankles. "Twat!" "Yes Cap'n?" "Why'd ye hang her facing port? It's to starboard ye shoulda been hangin' her, it's time she got the lash!" Margo waited breathlessly, listening to the sound of the surf, crashing nearby, the rain on the roof of the cabin, waiting for Twat to save her once again. "Cap'n, there's time enough for beating the bitch later. Now it's time for some rum and for me to remind ye why ye made me First Mate." Margo could hear a creaking, like someone settling on a bed. "C'mon Cap'n, stick it in Twat's twat, lemme warm it up for ye." She heard wet noises… and low moans… and in her mind she saw Harry standing at the edge of a bed, fucking Carol and it was beautiful, and she wanted to be there so badly, but she wasn't, she was here… wherever here was. She listened to them fucking and it was clear that Twat was doing everything in her power to distract the Captain, but in the end it proved fruitless. He pulled out of her. "Hold on, Twat, there'll be time enough to tumble with ye in a bit, but this bitch needs the lash and she needs it bad! If ye won't hang her to starboard then I'll stripe her to port!" She heard him stride across the cabin and then return. She felt strips of leather running across her breasts and belly, across the fronts of her thighs. She smelled Twat's juices on him. Even though she'd been warned not to, she couldn't help herself. "Captain," she said in a tiny voice, "I'm sorry, I'll behave. Please don't whip me." Tears spilled down her face. "I'll hang here quietly; I won't make any more trouble. Please don't lash me." "No," the Captain said after several moments of silence, "I'm not thinking it's you that'll be whipped after all, wench. Twat! I'm wonderin' why the gag ain't in her mouth where it belongs?" Oil of Roses Ch. 04 "Captain," Margo began, "I pushed it out with my tongue, Twat had-" The whip slapped across her belly and thighs and the pain was sharp and bright in her mind. "Quiet, bitch! Now then Twat, we was discussing the gag…" "I took it outta her mouth Cap'n, I was afraid she might be havin' trouble breathin'." "You're a lyin' little cunt, Twat, bend over the chair." 'Little cunt'… why did that sound so familiar… oh yes, that was one of Carol's pet names… Carol… Carol and Harry. She heard the sharp, loud whip strokes striking Twat, Twat counting out the strokes, all five of them, and then there were more wet noises, sucking noises. She could hear the Captain groaning in pleasure and it seemed Twat was humming. The smell of sweat and passion was in the air and it was bringing moistness between her legs. She heard the Captain cry out. "Oh my Ba... Bitch, you know how to suck cock!" She heard someone approaching. There was a dragging sound and then lips were kissing hers. She felt Twats breasts warm against her and she wondered what they tasted like. A trickle of warm fluid ran between their lips and as it struck her tongues she recognized it… rum. Rum and something else, semen she thought… the kiss broke and there was the sound of a bottle being drunk from, then the lips returned and more rum flowed from between them. The rum gone the kiss continued, and she responded to it. She wondered why she was responding to these villains who had kidnapped her, why she was so aroused by it all, was it a dream, had she dreamed this, was she dreaming it? If she was dreaming it, the kiss, the small hand at her breast, urges she'd felt to offer herself to the Captain to save Twat a lashing and for other reasons too, the taste of the rum and semen from Twat's mouth, the desire she had to suck the Captain's cock deep down her throat, the urge to bury Twat's head in her crotch and ride her face, the yearning to stay here and never go back… somewhere… somewhere she didn't want to go back to, if she was dreaming all this, then maybe it was the best dream she'd ever had, and maybe she'd better hang onto it. "Twat, quit sampling the wine, it's time to drop her." "Aye aye, sir." She was taken off the post and placed on a pile of pillows. A hand grabbed her hair and pulled her upright. She felt Twat kneel next to her. "You might as well get used to this, wench. The governor's men ain't comin' to save ye. There won't be no bloody heroes swingin' in on a rope. You're in bad company, and the Captain and me means to sample ye for awhile before we sell ye to thems as is even worse than us. Ye can scream if ye want, and all you're gonna do is scare some gulls and make the Captain's head hurt. Ye can fight all ye want, I did when he first took me and it changed nothin' but the number o' times I got the lash." And while she knew that she should be afraid, that she should be worried, all she was feeling was even more aroused, but that shouldn't be happening but she wanted it to... but it wouldn't, it wasn't going to, it wasn't right, it wasn't proper. But it seemed the Captain and Twat had other plans. She felt their mouths fasten to her nipples as one and while they explored her breasts, somewhere in the back of her mind she knew exactly what was happening and she was amazed at the love and care they were taking in fulfilling her fantasy and helping her to feel right about things and she locked that part of her mind away and sank back into the fantasy and she was starting to not care at all about what was right and what was proper and she was no longer at all sure they'd have to have her tied up at all as being taken by pirates was starting to feel pretty good. Their lips were ranging across her face and neck, in her hair and on her back. "Twat, I don't know if we'll be sellin' this one in Tortuga. She might need to be stayin' here in my cabin." "Fine with me, Cap'n, now, lemme get a taste o' that pie." She felt Twat slide down and begin to tease her cunt, as the Captain sat next to Margo, took her face in his hands and began to kiss her hungrily. She began to squirm back and forth, trying to get more of Twat's mouth in contact with her pussy as Twat taunted her and she sucked the Captain's tongue down her throat, inhaling deeply his rum-soaked breath. He tore away from her mouth. "Twat, are ye gonna taste that pie or tease this poor wench into some kinda fit? Quit playin' with your dinner, ye daft bitch!" Twat went to work on Margo's cunt with purpose and the Captain returned to kissing her, one hand caressing a breast, the other caressing her back. They laid her out and flipped her on her side. The Captain took over fondling her cunt with his tongue while Twat kissed her all over her ass. Her desire for release was all she could think of. She felt his erection poking into her leg and that wasn't where she wanted it. She tried to reach for it with her hands. Twat sat up. "I think it's time," she said. And they picked her up from the pillow and threw her on the bed. She felt the bed give as the Captain got up and roughly parted her legs and although she didn't want to stop him at all she tried to rise up on her arms and close her legs. "No," she said, "no I don't want-" but her cries were muffled as Twat hopped on the bed, facing the Captain, and lowered her cunt onto Margo's face. "There ye go darlin'," she said, "ye just be tellin' my juicy-sweet 'no'." Twat leaned forward and pinned her arms down while the Captain stuffed what felt like pillows under her ass. She was crying and she couldn't for the life of her have told whether they were tears of joy or sorrow as she buried her face in Twat's cunt and began to suck on her clit. The Captain threw her legs up over his shoulders and thrust into her and she was ready for him she wanted him and she wanted all of it and she wanted to keep her face buried in Twat's 'juicy-sweet' forever and the Captain drove his cock deep in her and it was funny but it was almost exactly how she'd always dreamed it would be if Harry fucked her and she heard the Captain and Twat kissing but the sound was becoming fainter drowned out by her own moans and it had been so long and she had been so lonely and she loved Harry so much and she loved Carol so much and she didn't know why they loved her but they did and then… there… was… no… more… thinking… * * * * * When her mind stopped spinning faster than the speed of sound and she could breath and not cry tears of joy and she could speak and not sound like a babbling idiot, she lay back and just soaked in the love, the Captain holding her on one side, First Mate Twat holding her on the other. "Well, wench," the Captain murmured in her ear, "you've got some choices to make. We like ye, so we can be settin ' ye ashore, or we can be tossin' ye naked into the hold with the crew, if such is your pleasure, or we can keep ye tied up in here for the fun of me and First Mate Twat, or ye can join the crew, be Second Mate Mounds, and be in here with us anyways." "Yeah wench," Twat whispered, "what'll it be?" "With the Captain's permission, Second Mate Mounds reporting for duty, Sir," she responded. Loving hands removed her blindfold. She was on Harry's bed, in the house. "How..." "Don't worry about how" Carol said, "that can be dealt with later. What's important is that you're here and you're free. Now, I need to go deal with some clean up. The two of you have something to do that's long overdue." She got up, wearing an enormous smile, and wandered off into the house. "Do you have any idea what she's talking about?" Harry asked, confusion on his face. "Yes I do, Captain. Now shut up and let's let Harry make love to Margo, shall we?" Oil of Roses Ch. 05 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Effusive thanks to Holly, the beloved and erotic Sister Decadence for her encouragement, editorial review and kind words. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. Thanks to John Hasty for his prompt and brilliant editing. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board.. The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. * * * * * Carol Riley sat on cushions on the floor of the living room, drinking a glass of wine and watching the rain fall outside. It was 1 A.M., Sunday. Her life had so completely turned around in the space of four and a half days as to be almost unrecognizable to her. If she was still with Rick, what would she be doing right now? Probably blowing him in front of his friends so he could show what a big man he was. There'd be another beating in her immediate future. With Rick there had always been another beating in her immediate future. Instead, she was sitting naked in her living room, her living room in her house, Harry had said so, watching the rain through her wide open front door and listening to her owner make love with the woman she was pretty sure would end up his wife some day, a wife who would love him and cherish him the way he deserved. And love and cherish their faithful pet, Baby Girl, the way she deserved as well. Speaking of loving and cherishing, she was looking forward to some more of that once the two of them had their time alone. What was happening in the master bedroom was the consummation of something begun fifteen years earlier. She didn't belong in there right now. Didn't mean she couldn't listen in and enjoy. Carol giggled to herself. She was ecstatically happy. * * * * * Harry Grimes woke up from a brief nap. It couldn't have been too long; the candles in the room hadn't visibly burned down at all. He found himself in the middle of a plethora of miracles. He had been well on the road to burning out, becoming a loveless shell of a man. Miracle Number One: Carol Riley had rescued him. Her condition led to- Miracle Number Two: reconnecting with Margo Wohler and her being willing to talk to him after they way he'd dropped her out of his life. And Carol's condition led to- Miracle Number Three: reconnecting with Eddy Janak and him being willing to talk to Harry after the way he'd dropped him out of his life. Miracles One and Two together led to Miracle Number Four: he and Carol were in a position to help Margo when she most needed help. Miracles One and Two together also led to Miracle Number Five: his and Margo's realization of their feelings for each other and their acting upon those feelings. Harry turned his head and looked at Margo, curled up next to him in the bed. There was Miracle Five, right before his eyes. The beauty in the bed next to him, happy, free... she loved him, she loved Carol, and they loved her. Others might argue that these weren't miracles, but Harry didn't give a shit. He knew miracles when he saw them. He carefully got out of bed and headed out in search of something to drink. * * * * * Margo Wohler stretched as she woke up. Her hands hit the headboard and as the stretch continued her legs hung off the end of the bed to her knees. Harry needed a bigger bed. She sat up on the edge of the bed and gazed around the room. Some of the effects from her fantasy were easy to explain, easy to find. The whipping post, the pile of cushions on the floor, the cat o' nine tails, the bowls with crushed apples, lemons, limes and open heaps of spices, the metal bowl where they'd been burning pot like it was incense... the cd player? She reached over and popped out the disc. 'Nature's Secrets: Soothing Sounds of the Sea'. Those clever little rascals. She sat and thought about her night, and the two lovers that awaited her elsewhere in the house. She wondered why she was feeling so secure, so safe? It was sad to admit, but that wasn't like her. Normally she'd awaken from a first sexual encounter a bundle of insecurities and paranoia, just about as neurotic as you could be without being a sitcom character from New York. It took her time to settle in, to feel like she belonged somewhere, but while this wasn't her place, she felt she belonged here, she felt welcome here. And she felt that this could be her place too, if she wanted it to be. Had Harry proposed to her while they were making love? No, no he hadn't. They'd both had much to say to each other while they loved each other, but there had been no mention of that. So where was that feeling coming from? * * * * * Harry was cuddling his Baby Girl close to his chest, just relishing the nearness of her, as they watched the rain from the front door of the house. Carol, for her part, was in paradise, cherished and loved, held close by the man who owned her, body and soul. They both looked up as Margo entered the living room. "Cap'n', Twat, why are you sitting in the cabin door watchin' the rain?" "Because we can, Mounds. Ye have some better idea?" "Yes Cap'n, follow me to the aft gang plank." As they did so, the Captain commented to Twat, "Have ye noticed what a fine ass Mounds has on her, First Mate Twat?" "Indeed I have, Cap'n, indeed I have. I'm thinkin' I'll be spendin' some time lickin' that ass." "Ye an' me both, Twat, ye an' me both." Ahead of them, Mounds' cunt gave a twitch as that sounded like a luscious idea to her as well. On her way through the kitchen she snagged a bar of soap and strode out onto the back deck and down the boards lying as a ramp from the deck to the grass. The rain had let up enough that the outlines of the neighbors' houses could be seen, but due to the lateness of the hour there were no lights on. They followed Margo out to the middle of the lawn, away from the trees. "Alright you curvy bitch, what now?" growled the Captain as the rain ran down his face. "Now," Mounds said with a smile, "we take a bath out here in the rain." She began to scrub the Captain's body with the bar of soap and soon she had acquired Twat's enthusiastic help. "You're both daft bitches, says I," growled the Captain, "you'll be leavin' soap in all me naughty bits an' I'll be itchin' like I just got back from shore leave in Port-au-Prince." "Nonsense Cap'n darlin'," said Twat, "we'll just go get us a bucket or two, let 'em fill up, have ye lay down on the deck, use 'em to sluice ye out and do the same for us girly types." The Captain stood and let himself be bathed by two lovely women, Mounds taking the top half and Twat the lower. Given the temperature of the rain, there wasn't much erotic about it, although he and his Second Mate kissed passionately while she washed his hair, but it was still a hedonistic dream as two sets of loving, soapy hands carefully cleaned every inch of his body. There was something earthy... lusty... about standing naked, out in the open, hidden only by the hour and the rain. As Harry stood naked in his back yard in the middle of the night, in the rain, taking a shower with two beautiful women, his mind turned to thoughts of not only of a hot tub, but a pool as well and certainly a high fence. A bigger shower in the master bath had already taken on critical importance. Soon the Captain was clean and work began on Twat's bath. As she and the Captain washed Twat, Mounds said, "Ye see, Cap'n, ye can watch the rain or ye can be out in the rain." "Mounds, you've a goodly head on your shoulders as well as a goodly brace o' cannon on your chest." "Thank ye, Cap'n. What be the name o' our ship, sir, if you don't mind me askin'?" "You're crewin' on the 'Free Booty', Mounds." "It's a good name, Cap'n; it's a good name for her." The Captain, down on one knee, was lovingly soaping Twat's lower parts, paying special attention to her ass, leading to moments of confusion as both parties wondered was he washing or caressing, while Mounds went high and once again made out with the object of her ministrations. For her part, Twat was in heaven as the hands of her crewmates ran over her body repeatedly, each touch an act of love. Carol had never known such happiness. These two people were extraordinary. And they knew how to play! Here they were, all having a grand time playing pirates! Her mind reeled at the possibilities their future playtimes held! Why, they could be anyone, do anything. She had some really kinky fantasies that pretty much required a man and another woman. They were all going to have such fun together. And as they finished washing Twat, they began work on Mounds. The Captain repaid Mounds' earlier favor by carefully washing her top, their tongues dueling in each other's mouths through most of it, while Twat started at the bottom and spent a long time soaping up Mounds legs, possibly distracted by the amount of time she spent kissing and licking the Second Mate's magnificent ass. Margo marveled at the mask she was wearing and its effect upon her. Margo Wohler-soon-by-the-grace-of-God-to-be-ex-Sapperstein would never in a million years stand naked out in the back yard of a home in a residential neighborhood, letting her two lovers wash her body in the rain, making out with one while the other used her sweet tongue to worship Margo's ass. But Second Mate Mounds of the 'Free Booty', why, who knew what she might do? After they were through bathing Mounds, all three of them were cold so they went back inside, got dry and wrapped themselves in blankets. Twat closed the front door, locking it and the back and made Irish coffee to warm them. They and their blankets huddled together in the living room, eating a light meal of fruit and cheese. After they had warmed themselves up and eaten, their minds turned to other matters. "Y'know," said Mounds, "I'm thinkin' that somewhere along the line, Twat owes me a cunt lickin'. Seems to me she started one, earlier in the night, but never finished." Before Mounds had finished her sentence, Twat was lying between her legs, parting the hair with her tongue, gently exposing Mounds' clitoris. She began to tease it and soon Mounds' hips were slowly and sensuously gyrating like a belly dance in slow motion. "Seems to me, Mounds," said the Captain from his nearby cushion, "that ye be owin' her one as well, seein' as how ye were in no shape to finish the one ye began on her." So with some rearrangement the two lovers were on their sides, faces buried between each others legs. The delightful, wet sounds of love filled the air. "Ye know, there's nothin' I've seen anywhere in the world prettier than the two sexiest wenches ever to grace a ship's deck or a port's brothels goin' at each other's cunts with a will," said the Captain, stroking his cock. The Captain saw Twat's hands caressing Mounds' ass, her fingers teasing her asshole and so he went and got some unguent and put it where Twat could see it and reach it. It wasn't long at all before Twat was gently easing her finger in and out of the Second Mate's ass, fucking her in counterpoint to her tongue and Mounds seemed to find it exceedingly pleasurable if her moans were any indication. "Do ye think ye want to be tryin' one of them little mysteries of the Orient we got in Havana on her, Twat?" the Captain asked. He could see Twat's vigorous nodding so he went and one of the small vibrating butt plugs they'd bought, brought it over, lubed it well and handed it to her. He watched, his hand once more on his cock, as Twat slowly and cautiously eased it into Mounds' ass. Once it was fully in, she turned it on 'low'. Margo floated in a sea of sweaty sensuality. Never had her body felt so alive as it had with her two new lovers. She'd never thought much of the idea of any anal play, had been afraid of it actually, had clamped down and gone defensive when any other lover got close, but when Carol first ran her finger down the crack of Margo's ass, she had relaxed, open to the possibilities, unafraid. When Carol's finger had entered her, she'd welcomed it, wished it was longer, if not necessarily wider. And when the little 'mystery of the Orient' had been worked in, well, that might have hurt a little, but once it was in, it was good... and once it was turned on, it was so much better. She'd never eaten pussy before in her life, had fantasized about it in the abstract, had even brought her own wet hand up to her mouth and licked it so she knew her taste, and she had been nervous when she first went down on Carol that she wouldn't know how to do it right, that she'd mess up, but she just did what she knew would feel good to her, and it seemed to be working just fine. And then there was Carol, right there, deliciously between her legs, giving excellent examples of other things to try, techniques to use. She thought of her anxieties and her worries and what if she did something and one of them didn't like it and she destroyed the mood and then everyone would be pissed off and it would all be her fault. The last worry, the last tentativeness, was destroyed as she realized that she couldn't fuck this up, she couldn't do anything wrong. Their love wouldn't let her. With that, her climax broke through and washed her mind away. Carol got up, cleaned up a bit and then came back to lie in Margo's arms. She was in heaven, in love with two beautiful, wonderful people. * * * * * "Margo, thank you," Carol said, holding Margo in her arms. "Thank you for loving us and thank you for letting us love you." "Carol, no, I should be thanking the two of you, and I will be, for the rest of my life. I was so afraid, so scared. I didn't have anyone to turn to, anyone who'd understand except you and Harry, and if you hadn't..." The tears flowed down her cheeks in streams. "No, shhhh, no beloved, no..." Carol kissed her tears away, finishing with feather-soft kisses on her eyelids. "You were scared but you got here and we love you and you've got no reason to go back to that time because it's past. Let that fear go, baby, you're safe, we're here to protect you and cherish you." The next eternity passed as the two women caressed each other, held and loved and tasted each other in an erotic ballet danced to their heartbeats. Margo wept over Carol's bruises, Carol wept over Margo's loneliness and fear, they wept together for Harry and the still-bleeding wounds on his soul that Angie had left, they wept and laughed in their joy at the future before them all and lost themselves in each other's eyes and hearts. While Harry slept, the two women in his life made love. * * * * * In the carnal afterglow, Margo and Carol drifted off to sleep themselves. For a time the house was silent, save for the light snores of three very happy lovers. * * * * * Carol wandered through her parent's house, trying to find someone, anyone. As the search went on and each successive room was scoured and no one found, her panic grew; they had to be here somewhere, someone had to be. Teetering on the brink of tears she finished the last room, the living room, and fell to her knees in despair. As she did so, she saw two figures in the front yard, staring out across the street. There they were, her parents, or someone, and so she ran out of the house, tears of panic turned to tears of joy. As she drew closer she could tell that it was her Mommy and Daddy and that now she would be safe and everything would be ok, but as she ran to them, calling to them, they didn't respond, they didn't turn, they just stood there looking across the desert... hadn't it been a street a moment ago? And they seemed to be getting farther and farther away so she ran faster and it seemed she was slowly getting closer but the sand sucked at her feet and she was getting tired and so, so hot and thirsty, maybe she should go back to the house and wait until it got dark but when she turned, there was no sign of the house and she'd left no tracks in the sand, so she whirled about and there her parents were, right next to her, still facing away from her, and she yelled "Mommy, Daddy, I'm here, look at me! It's Carol!" but the figures never turned, so she ran around in front of them and they were facing away from her again so she ran back and forth and back and forth until she realized there was no front, they were each two turned backs and there was no way she was ever going to make them see her because they didn't have any eyes to see her with so she sank down in the sand and cried because there was no one and she was so lonely and so scared and the blowing sand started to pile up around her and she thought she'd just sit there and die but someone touched her on the shoulder and she looked up and it was Harry and she knew everything was alright, it was Harry and he would love her and take care of her and she'd take care of him and everything would be beautiful from now on and Harry looked at her and said "I'm sorry miss, I thought you were someone else. I was looking for Margo" and her heart died and she felt it, there was just a wooden lump in her chest and her blood didn't move and she sat there like a marionette with all its strings cut and the sand covered her over- She opened her eyes and there was Harry, his face full of love and concern, and he said "Baby Girl, are you alright?" and the tears started. Harry picked her up and carried her across the room and put her in a nest of pillows and wrapped himself around her while she cried, stroking her and caressing her. When the tears finally began to dry up, she told him of her nightmare. "No Baby Girl, don't you ever worry about that. Margo loves you and I love you and you're a part of me. Do you understand that? Nobody, not Margo, no matter how much I love her, nobody, gets me without you. You and I, we're bonded and I know that I cannot conceive of a life without you in it so the only person who can break up this team is you." Carol began to cry once again, tears of joy. "Then Harry my love, it will never happen. I am yours." Harry held her, so in love with the beautiful spirit that had blessed his life. As she settled down again, he kept holding her tightly. "Baby Girl, tell me about your family." "You mean you can't guess, Harry? I'd have thought it was obvious. My parents were very distant, disapproving of anything but achievement, which to them meant athletic or academic success. They'd had to work to get where they were, they were supporting me and my brothers and sisters, as well as both sets of grandparents. I think the strain was just too much for them. I was talking with Margo while you were asleep, it seems she and I have a lot in common, we just reacted to it differently. I always felt I had to earn their love, I had to fight for every hug, their time was precious and it was given out sparingly to whichever of us kids had done the best. After awhile, I dropped out of the competition, started getting their attention in other ways." Oil of Roses Ch. 05 "Let me guess, Baby Girl, you spent a lot of time getting to know the legal system." "Intimately, Harry. And I'll warn you right now, I've got some really kinky incest fantasies rolling around in my head, all wrapped up in my family life. Not that I'd ever want to sleep with my dad, or any real member of my family, but the reality of our lives casts echoes in our fantasies." "Baby Girl, I was never much into role-playing before you came into my life, but with the success of last night's pirate fantasy for Margo, I'll play any role you want, just name it." "Thank you sir, I love you so much." "But back to the fucked up reality. It only got worse as my grandparents died. If they hadn't lived with us I don't know what I would have done but they were they only unconditional love I had any experience with. I kept getting better and better at making my parents lives a living hell." "They were disgusted when I went to school and majored in Theater, but by that point I was already earning my own money and living on my own. When I dropped out of school and went 'underground', so to speak, I lost contact with them completely. I wouldn't mind getting back in touch with my brothers and sisters, but as far as I'm concerned my parents can go to hell and send me postcards." Harry held his pet close to him and stroked her lovingly. "Perhaps you and I can go visit your siblings some day." Her face lit up. "You mean it, Harry? Oh, I'd love that! I'd love to show you off." Harry brushed his lips across hers. "My Baby Girl, I can refuse you nothing." Carol laughed. "Don't say things like that Harry, I might put you to the test. But enough about me and the fucked-up Riley clan; what about you and your family? I know your parents are gone. Do you have any brothers and sisters?" "One sister, six years younger than me which would make her twenty-seven now, Nicki. The last time I saw Nicki was at the rehearsal dinner for my wedding. She'd flown in for the wedding from Atlanta, had never met Angie before and she and I damn near got into a knock-down drag-out fight when she tried to tell me the truth about Angie. She said a lot of things that it turns out were completely accurate and I said a lot of hateful and hurtful things that were lies or at best half-truths. She stormed out of the rehearsal dinner in tears and we haven't spoken since. I miss her." "Why haven't you called her?" "I can't. I can't bring myself to. Baby Girl, I was so angry, I went out to hurt her badly, I used shit I would never ever have brought up if I wasn't trying to wound her as deeply as I could. I wanted to gut her emotionally and I did. I suppose I ought to call her, just to let her know she was right and let her have her well-deserved gloat. I owe her that. But I just haven't been able to bring myself to do it. Hell, I doubt she'd pick up the phone if she knew it was me." "Well, I know you'll be ready to call her someday, Harry, or she'll call you." Carol snuggled in close to her owner. While her fears from her nightmare had eased, still there was an aching need in here, a need to be loved, a need to be filled. As her hand reached down and caressed Harry's cock, it responded, and she fancied she knew how she could get her needs met. * * * * * Margo woke up and laid there while she watched Harry and Carol make love. Carol was on her knees, her body supported by a pile of pillows, her arms serving mostly to keep her balanced while Harry took her from behind. In the sole candle's light she saw the sheen of sweat on Carol's thighs, the glint of moisture on Harry's cock as he drew it back, the moistness left on Carol's lips as she licked them. Margo's hands went between her legs as the sight, and the still vibrating plug, excited her. She lay there and played with herself until she saw Carol looking at her. Carol winked and said, "Margo, come here and give me a kiss." As Margo crawled across the floor, feeling like some jungle animal in heat, she asked, "Harry, may I use Carol's pet names?" "Of course," Harry replied, "feel free." She crawled up to Carol, settling in front of the cushions and kissed her, fucking her mouth with her tongue. Carol's body twisted and shook atop the pillows and her arms came up as her hands grasped at the sides of Margo's head. The two of them locked on to each other, a duel of tongues as their desire swelled and soared. Margo broke free from the kiss and got up, making a seat of sorts out of some pillows and sat down, putting her cunt in Carol's face. "There you go, Baby Girl, kiss that," she said, her voice thick with desire. Carol's arms came back up off the floor and wrapped themselves around Margo's legs, pulling her in tightly. Margo spread her knees a bit more to give Carol's darting tongue more room to work. Margo relaxed into the sensations and let her mind float free. Carol was floating in her happy place. The aching urge to be filled that had come over her was being satisfied most satisfactorily and Harry showed no signs of stopping anytime soon, which was fine by her. There was lots of lubricant about should they need some and having her owner make love to her was perfect and right and could go on forever as far as she was concerned. So, Harry was loving her at one end while she was loving Margo at the other. Although they weren't touching or kissing, she knew that Harry and Margo were looking at one another and she imagined she could feel their love for each other running through her body as it connected them. "Harry," Margo said, "you do realize what an absolute-" Margo shivered and moaned as a small orgasm rippled through her, "-gift from heaven this sweet Baby Girl is, don't you?" "She is the pearl without price, Margo, the most precious and wondrous treasure any man or woman could possess," Harry said as he continued to stroke in and out of her warm wetness. "And, greedy swine that I am, at present she is all mine, although I gladly share her with you." "Most kind of you, good sir, most kind indeed." Harry scanned around and saw, just barely within his reach, the two items he was looking for. Snagging them both he withdrew from Carol's throbbing cunt and inserted a vibrator which, as soon as it was snugly in, had her small frame shivering and twitching. Then he opened the lubricant and began to apply it liberally to her sweet brown hole and his cock. "Harry, what are you- aah aah aah- doing to her," Margo asked? "She's going- mmmmmmmmm- crazy over here... I mean, really- ooooooh- crazy." "Well hold on, my love, she's about to get even crazier. I'm about to take her in the ass and that will probably send her way over the edge." "Haaaaaaaarry, I don't th-th-think she can g-get any crazi-zi-zier." He reached down and took a firm grip on the wide hips he loved so well. He could see her rectal muscles, flexing, eager. Carefully he neared his glistening target, made sure his footing was sound and slowly and surely pushed his way into her. "I WAS WR-WRONG! OH... GOD... I... WAS... SO...WRONG!" "Told you, baby. Just relax and let her drive you, she'll take you where you need to go. Even when she's cumming my Baby Girl can keep that much of her head together," he said. Harry slid smoothly in and out of her, the muscles in her ass massaging him, milking him, demanding his long-delayed orgasm. From Margo's cunt he heard Carol singing out her body's joy, her soul's contentment. Margo lay back upon the cushions as one in a seizure, his pet's attentions to her pussy robbing her of everything but her peaking thrills. As he watched, Carol tightened her grip on Margo's thighs as pillows slid out from under Margo's torso and she threatened to slip out of Carol's reach. This time, this configuration of their bodies, this was the fulfillment of one of Carol's fantasies and she wasn't about to let go of it yet. But Harry was rapidly running out of time. His eyes were glazing over as he sank deeper into an erotic fog, losing himself in the sensations his body was bombarded by. The throbbing of the vibrator, the spasms of her cunt, the contractions of her asshole, the slap of her flesh against his, the feel of her hips under his hands, the wet sounds that filled the air, the smells of three peoples' passion, all these combined to pull him under. He lost the fight and felt his balls convulse so fiercely they shook as if they'd been hit. He gave his climax voice and as if it were the cry of an alpha wolf, the rest of the pack answered it, their voices joining his in the singing of their pleasure. * * * * * When his eyes could focus again he found himself lying on his side, Carol still on her pile of pillows above him, Margo nowhere to be seen. "Margo?" "Hold on Harry, be right there." He heard running water and when she returned she had towels and washcloths and a large pan full of steaming water, rose petals floating on its surface. "Ah," Harry said, "I see you found where Baby Girl hid the roses." "Yes, I went looking for them special, just for the wash water. I knew the two of you hadn't made them disappear, so they were here somewhere." As she went through multiple washcloths, thoroughly cleaning Carol's bottom, she looked down at him. "Harry, have I told you lately that I love you?" "Yes you have, but I won't tire of hearing you say it." "I love you, Harry. I love you too, Baby Girl," she said to the prostrate form before her. "Ummm, love you, Margo," murmured Carol. "I love you too, Margo," said Harry smiling. She finished with Carol and with her cleaning supplies sat down next to Harry. Carol slid off the pillows and curled up next to him. Margo began to clean Harry's cock. "Harry, Baby Girl, it's going to be very hard for me to leave here-" "Then don't," injected Carol. "-shhh, don't make this conversation any harder, Baby Girl. I'm going to have to leave for awhile. I need to dissolve my so-called marriage. Don't worry that that will keep me from visiting, coming back to play with you and love with you. My and Benjamin's pre-nups are so worded that I could be doing the entire Marine Corps on the 50 yard line of the Cotton Bowl and he could be in the process of becoming history's first living Jewish Catholic saint and it wouldn't change the way the divorce will play out at all. I don't have to be all that careful, and God knows he's never had to be." "And after the divorce, I'm going to take some time off, travel some, try to wrap my head around some things, figure out what I want to do with my career. Please don't worry. If you want me to come back, Harry, there's nothing that will keep me away, but I will need some time." "My love," Harry said, "do you doubt that I want you back, that we want you back? Don't you know I'll marry you, we'll marry you, at the drop of a hat, all you have to do is say the word, once both our divorces are final? Do you have any doubt that Carol and I would pledge ourselves to loving you for the rest of our lives without reservation whenever you were willing to pledge yourself to us?" "No Harry, I don't doubt it, not anymore... but you never said it. Some things a woman needs to hear. Then know that I'll be back. I'll come home. Just do me a favor Harry. When 'interesting situations' come your way, and they will, trust her instincts, not yours." "Yeah," Harry grimaced, "she got involved with Rick knowing it was a bad idea. I married the skank and stayed with her for 3 years thinking all was rosy." "Exactly my point, Beloved, she's much better at reading people than you are, especially if she's not starving and I don't think that'll be a problem for the two of you. I won't worry at all if she's here to guide you. I know you'll be safe." * * * * * Carol and Harry sat together, listening to the rain which threatened to go on forever. Margo had been whispering something to Harry earlier, but as she was grinning evilly, Carol knew she had nothing to worry about, only fun to anticipate. Margo came in from the bedroom. "Twat!" "Yes Cap'n," she replied, surprised at the sudden return to play, "what sir?" "Let Mounds see to you." She turned her head and there was Mounds, bringing a blindfold and a ball gag and the padded cuffs Mounds herself had worn earlier in the evening. An evil, lusty leer covered Mounds' face as she shackled Twat's wrists together, firmly secured the ball gag, and finally kissed Twat's forehead before slipping the blindfold over her eyes. The Captain reached down and threw her over his shoulder and off they went to the Captain's quarters where he flung her on the bed, shackled her feet together, and then ran a restraining rod from her wrists to her ankles. She was pulled towards the far edge of the bed and someone pulled her blindfold up just a bit, so that she had a thin sliver a vision. She saw the Captain come over and get on the bed beside her, on his hands and knees. Mounds had brought in the unguent they used as lubricant and was greasing the Captain's ass up good. Then Twat watched with delight as she worked another of the little mysteries of the Orient into his mostly virgin asshole. When Mounds turned the wheel that made it buzz, Twat would have thought the Captain had been hit by a bolt of lightning in his nut sack. He came up off the bed and his cock, which had been mostly limp when he crawled on, was filling out as she watched. He got up and then Mounds lay down on the bed. The Captain knelt between her legs and feasted on her moistness, making love to the Second Mate with his tongue, burying his face between her voluptuous thighs as he propped her legs on his shoulders and the wet noises filled the room. Twat was in agony, her Captain and the beautiful Second Mate, hot, juicy sex so close she could've tasted it if she could've gotten her tongue past the ball gag and she couldn't do a thing but watch and whimper. Orgasms were coursing through Mounds' body, her tits jiggling right there, so close. Twat tried to twist her body closer but that traitorous bitch put out her hand to the restraining bar and held her where she was! Then Mounds lay across the bed sideways, her head right there before Twat's eyes. The Captain knelt over her face; his feet entwined in her restraints, and fucked the Second Mate's mouth, inches in front of her. Twat's whimpering was a pitiful thing to hear but still there he was, fucking her mouth, balls draped down, the end of the 'mystery' buzzing in his ass. Oh, for her crewmates' treachery they would pay a heavy price! She would keelhaul the both of them! Tie them to anchors and drag them along the bottom from St. Kitts to Cartagena! Sell the two of them out to the French! Or just arrange to do the same thing to each of them at some point, let them see how they liked it! At last her torment was ended. The Captain pulled his erect cock out of Mounds warm mouth. Mounds rolled over and smiled at her, smirking seductively, then got out of bed. Mounds went around behind her and she heard her fiddling about with something, heard some metallic clinking sounds, heard her mutter 'well, I don't need that, already have something in there', more clinking, 'oh, that feels very nice' and then the Captain was taking off the restraining rod. As he did, Mounds unlocked her feet from one another. Someone slipped the blindfold back down securely over her eyes and fastened her wrist cuffs to the head of the bed. She heard movement in the room and someone, it smelled like Mounds, climbed on the bed in front of her, leaving the Captain to be the one climbing in behind her. The Captain worked his way around Twat's hairline and the back of her neck, nibbling and licking. The bitch was squirmy, but it wasn't so bad yet that he had to consider restraining her legs. Down her back he went, and up on her left side, tasting his First Mate, forcing himself to be slow and patient. His cock was straining as it wagged back and forth, not only from the buzzing of the 'mystery of the Orient' but from the woman before him as well. It was going to be a long voyage and while he knew he had plenty of time to use his First Mate to slake his desires, the very sight of her, smell of her, made patience almost impossible. Yet, patient the Captain was as he moved down her body. Second Mate Mounds pitied the Captain, in a way. Not that Twat's aft was without charms, no, it had charms a-plenty, but it was her fore that held the more obvious of her attractions. Mounds sucked a nipple between her teeth and Twat shivered. She could see the First Mate struggling against the restraints and Mounds found herself wishing they had the right equipment to allow her and the Captain full access while restraining the little bitch completely. Aye, then they'd see some twitching. One of her hands went up to Twat's arm pit to gently tease and tickle her while the other did the same on her cunt, providing Twat with a bit of a dilemma. If she wiggled too hard from the arm, she'd lose the delight of the other. Mounds grinned sadistically and went back to work on the tits of her wriggling victim. The Captain watched his beloved Twat's ass jiggling as Mounds did her best to excite her. By the trembling of the First Mate's body, she was succeeding admirably. He took his hand and gently inserted it between her thighs, worming it forward to rest against her warm and wet 'juicy sweet'. Her jerks became refocused as she tried to bring herself down fully in contact with this hand but any progress she made he eased away from. Mounds tired of the tickle game and latched back onto Twat's tit with all the suction of a giant vampire bat. She slipped her hand into her own wetness and brought it up, dripping, and smeared the fluids below Twat's nose. A high keening whimpering broke free of Twat and she jerked against her restraints forcefully, shaking the bed and all in it. Sensing it was time, the Captain grabbed the bottle of unguent and lubricated himself thoroughly. He eased close to Twat and holding one ass cheek high, began to maneuver himself in to penetrate her delicate asshole. As he approached she began to try to jerk down towards him, trying to drive herself onto the cock she knew was coming, trying to spear herself on it. Twat wasn't a thinking creature anymore, nay, perhaps not even human. She was an animal, a sexual animal, caged and taunted, all her being focused on finding satisfaction so she blindly heaved her body against her chains, attempting to impale herself upon her Captain's cock. Not wishing to see his beautiful First Mate damage herself, the Captain took firm grip of her lovely, fleshy hips and eased his cock into her ass, trying to hold her still as he moved into her fully. Then, holding her tightly, he rolled the two of them onto his back, a position where he was properly situated to comfortably fuck her. He said, "Now you, Second Mate Mounds". Mounds grinned, now was the moment of truth. She grabbed a bottle of oily fluid to grease the shaft of Twat's own strap-on cock. After it was slick and wet, she moved forward, lifted Twat's legs high in the air and carefully worked on getting the aim correct, first time out, without letting on to Twat what was about to happen. Not that Twat would've been able to understand it; she seemed to be deep into the 'fuck me' place. When she was satisfied that she was as on target as she could get, she gently drove it home. First Mate Twat's body began to shake like a voudon lady's. Even through the ball gag they could make out her repeating cry of 'fuck me'. "Well Captain," Mounds said, pleased with the effects of her plan so far, "ye were first in, so the first stroke be yours. Take off sir, we'll take turns." The Captain pulled back, her ass sucking him back in like a whirlpool and as he started back in, through the thin wall of Twat's body separating him and Mounds, he felt his Second Mate pulling back for her stroke. Oil of Roses Ch. 05 Like one body with two cocks they pistoned the keening body of the First Mate between them. They couldn't tell where one of Twat's climaxes ended and another began as they used her relentlessly, slowly increasing their speed. The minutes seemed like hours as Twat's tiny body hung suspended above the bed, her legs only balancing her, impaled on her Captain and speared by the Second Mate, fucked back and forth; floating as if in the sky and the thunder and lightning rolling through her loins was the joy of Zeus himself. Between the buzzing in his butt, the feel of Mounds across the thin barrier of skin and just the sensations of taking Twat in her ass, the Captain was on the edge of losing control. Mounds, buzzing in her behind and a large nubbin attached to the strap-on keeping her cunny excited was in little better shape. Their rhythms started to go out of sync, and soon the both of them were lost to the power of their own orgasms. Mounds fell off to the side to shudder and shake but the Captain kept hold of Twat's ass and kept pumping as he rocked back and forth like a ship in the grip of a storm. When at last he had no more in him, he reached up and unhooked Twat from the headboard, unsnapped the ball gag and tipped off her blindfold. As he collapsed back to the bed to soak in the afterglow the Captain expected Twat to roll off to the other side of him but she didn't, instead pivoting up and continuing to rock on his dick. Her motions brought a measure of life back to his rapidly wilting organ and she rode him for all she was worth. Mounds, seeing the fun, crawled over and lay between the Captain's legs, licking at Twat's cunt as it came down in each pumping. The wetness from Twat was smeared all over Mounds' face. But soon the exhausted First Mate could take no more and rolled off to the side, crawling over to lick clean the face of Mounds. The Captain pulled himself up in the bed and watched, amazed to find there was an occasional flicker of interest running through his overtaxed cock. Then when he thought on it, the sight of his beautiful Twat licking Mounds face clean could get a rise out of the dead. When she was through, Twat sank back on to the bed. "Oh... God... Mounds... you're an evil... cunt... and you've... got to... try that..." Mounds scooted over on the bed and began licking on one of the First Mate's tits. "I don't think my almost virgin ass can take the Captain." A soft snore drifted across the room. "No... you'll be taking... me with the smallest... cock I can fit... on the harness..." "Well then, that's different. After a day of having the mystery in me, I think I could handle that." She looked up at the sleeping form of the Captain. "But methinks he'll be needin' a bit of a break first." Oil of Roses Ch. 06 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Effusive thanks to Holly, the beloved and erotic Sister Decadence for her encouragement, editorial review and kind words. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * The Captain woke up briefly as he was once again washed. Two pair of hands rinsed his body with warm washcloths and with love. He drifted back to sleep. * * * * * He came to for a moment as either Twat or Mounds shifted position, curled up next to him on either side. Sleep reclaimed him. * * * * * He woke up, carefully crawled out of his bunk, not disturbing his sleeping crewmates and went to the head, then caught a shower. As he dried himself, his stomach rumbled so ominously he could hear it over the rain outside. He headed for the galley and proceeded to make sandwiches, salad and a pitcher of iced tea. Piling his provisions on a tray he carried them back to his cabin to awaken his bunkmates and see to their feeding. "By God's Grace, Cap'n, you're a good man," said Twat, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "I was dreamin' of food an' with me appetite for sex that means I'm starvin' to death." "Aye," said Mounds, "I seem to remember a dream of floatin' islands of roast beef on a gravy sea. Me thinks I was about to start chewin' a pillow." "No need for ye to be damagin' my beddin'," said the Captain. "So tuck in afore I have to be gaggin' ye anytime ye be near me bedsheets." "Might not be a bad thing, Cap'n," said Twat. "Dependin' on what you'd be gaggin' us with," added Mounds. "I swear ye daft bitches'll be the death o' me yet," he said. "But lookin' at the two of ye, well, there be worse ways to go, if ye take my meanin'." The three happy shipmates ate their picnic on the Captain's bunk as Twat filled the Captain in on her and Mounds' plan to give the Second Mate the same treatment as Twat had had. A shower for the girly types later, it was on. * * * * * "Now ye won't be getting' the full effect, bein' as ye know it's comin'," said the Captain as he gently worked the 'mystery' back into her ass. "But we'll do our best to be makin' it a memorable experience for ye anyway." Mounds would've answered in a somewhat appreciative manner except for her bound state; stretched the length of the bed and beyond, feet to the braced whipping post, hands to the headboard, blindfold on and ball gag in place. But at least she writhed a bit and it looked like she meant she'd appreciate the effort. Or perhaps that was just her enjoying the 'mystery'. Twat, eager to test a theory she had, brought in a rose and gently scratched the inside of one of Mounds' thighs with a thorn. The bound woman twisted and turned within her restraints, moaning with pleasure. "Cap'n darlin', it seems that Second Mate Mounds likes just a bit of the pain." The Captain leaned close to his Second Mate's head and bit her earlobe, gently. "Moan once if you be likin' a bit o' pain, Mounds, twice if a fair amount, thrice if a goodly amount, four times if ye be likin' rough trade and five if we should keelhaul ye to get ye your jollies." "Mmmmmm." "Ah, so one moan it is... well, that be good to know." Taking the rose from Twat, he slowly and gently dragged it down Mounds' back, watching her twitch. Then he and his luscious First Mate loaded the hookah and proceeded to smoke a bowl, making sure to blow plenty at the face of the restrained Mounds. Twat began to lightly scratch Mounds with her nails, all over her body, taking special care to note what spots got the most reaction while the Captain sucked and licked at her toes. "Ye see Twat," he said, in-between bouts of molesting his Second Mate's feet, "something tells me, almost like a message in a bottle from another life mayhap, that this saucy bitch be havin' very sensitive feet. It's almost like I was rubbin' 'em once, in another time and place, and she had the most amazin' response. Seemed to get her all hot an' bothered." Mounds squirmed and seemed to be agitated. The Captain returned to his task, sucking her toes into his mouth as he ran his tongue around them, rubbing on the soles as he licked and kissed the tops and the ankles, always returning to her toes. The Second Mate seemed to have a fever, she was shaking so. "Alright Twat, time to let her stew a bit." And with that they turned her onto her back. First Mate Twat, facing the head of the bunk, positioned herself on all fours, with her juicy-sweet directly over Mounds' blindfold. Then the Captain pulled the blindfold out of position just a slit so that the helpless victim could see, and slid his cock into Twat directly over her face. They were so close to her that on occasion the bottom of his ball sack brushed the tip of her nose as Mounds' two malicious bunkmates began to fuck just inches above her, the sights and sounds and smells so close and yet so far away. The frantic whimpering began deep in Mounds, down near her cunt, and made its way up, gathering strength the whole way. She lay beneath the lovers, quivering like a leaf in a stiff offshore breeze and making a sound like a starving beast begging for food. The Captain continued to slowly fuck his First Mate, pulling almost all the way out on each back stroke, then back in with a soft squishing noise. Minute after minute after minute it continued, a quarter hour passing, slow and languorous, a hedonistic revel, a half hour approaching, lost in every feeling of the act, savoring each stroke as it's own celebration of their love. "Oh Cap'n sir, don't ye love fuckin' for a captive audience," Twat purred. "Makes the whole thing more sexy like." Mounds, straining against her bonds, desperate to join in the fun, might have described it differently. "Me knows what ye mean, Twat," replied the Captain, "it's all I can do to keep from pullin' out of ye and spillin' me seed all over her tits." "MmmmMMmMMmmmmm!" "Oh Cap'n darlin', don't be doin' that, let me have it all, don't be wastin' it on that poor dear below us." That put the Captain over the edge and from below Mounds could clearly see each contraction, each convulsion of his balls as he came into Twat. The First Mate's own climax was but a second or three behind and then she was grinding her crotch into his, the sexual energy crackling between them like a summer storm at sea, all mere inches above the helpless Second Mates staring eyes. She would get them for this! She would throw them both, naked and bound, into the prison in Port Royal! She would lash them to the sides of the ship and let the dolphins fuck them! She would sell the two of them out to the French! Or she'd make sure the Captain found out what this felt like and then she'd come up with some new and exquisite torture for that traitorous bitch, Twat! The Captain pulled out and dribbled on to Mounds' face. She felt him get off the bunk. Twat bent down and licked up what had dribbled. She put a hand into her crotch and brought it out, covered with both her and the Captain. She wiped a thin patch of it beneath Mounds' nose. "Two for one, me darlin', just thought I'd be payin' ye back with some interest." "MMMMMmmmMMmmmmMMMmmmmM!" "I know, me darlin', hell of a turn-on, ain't it now?" "MMmmMMM! Her blindfold was lowered back into place. Relaxing the tightness of her stretching, the Captain had enough slack to get between her legs and begin to tease her cunny with his tongue. A warmth was building in Mounds which could not be denied. The Second Mate was not a weak woman and already she found herself wondering if it were possible for her to break her bonds. Wouldn't that surprise her two depraved companions? But as she struggled she realized it was not to be. Twat was fastened on to the front of her body like a second skin, straddling her, caressing every inch of her that she touched with any part of her full figure, her mouth nursing at Mounds breast softly, sweetly, like a child recovering from a fright, but combined with the rest of her motion it became the innocence of the child of Satan himself, seducing the mother that bore her. Tears were streaming from Mounds eyes and her hips had lost all semblance of control from the assault of her lovers upon her body. A moaning sob came from beneath the ball gag and it was this sound that signaled to her two tormentors it was time to begin the final step. The Captain kept up his teasing of her sopping cunt as Twat put on her rig. When she was ready, he released the ties on her legs and scooted beneath her, turning her to lie face down upon him. He held his dick down with his hand as she rubbed her hairy warmth all over him, trying to find it so that she could sink herself upon it. When she had calmed and he was no longer in danger of her bending it in half in her frenzy he slid it home and her orgasms began. Twat removed the 'mystery' from the Second Mate's ass and slathered generous amounts of lubrication on her smallest cock. "Hold her Cap'n, it's goin' in." The Captain brought his lower legs up, out and to the sides, over her calves and held her tightly to his chest, whispering in her ear "Alright now, Mounds me love, relax and help this happen". Twat slowly and with great tenderness and care eased the very tip of the strap-on into her lover's ass. The level of Mounds' whimpering grew louder and Twat froze. "Moan once for 'stop and pull it out', twice for 'that feels nice, keep going', me darlin'," he told her. "MMMmmmm... mmmMMmm." "Two moans, clearly two moans, keep goin' Twat!" The tiny First Mate continued the push, gradual, slow, an eighth of an inch at a time, stopping often, watching for signs that her lover was in pain or distress. Finally she was all the way in. "Alright Cap'n my love, first in, first out, take it real slow and easy." As he pulled out, he could see the muscles of Twat's legs tense as she hunched over the ass in front of her. Pushing back in, he saw her easing out and within three strokes they had found their rhythm, working the Second Mate between them like two children licking the same piece of stick candy. For her part, Mounds was insensible, her body now only a vessel for her cunny and her ass, her climaxes rippling through her like a pennant flag snapping on a windy day. Back and forth she rocked between the bodies of her lovers as the minutes passed. As her body grew more tired the cadence of her moans changed and it sounded to the Captain like maybe it was important, so he popped the clasp on her ball gag. "iloveyouiloveyouiloveyouiloveyou" With that the Captain could hold back no longer and his own climax threw his head back into his pillow, mouth open and eyes rolled back as he emptied himself into her. Twat, seeing this, gently withdrew from Mounds' ass and shucked the harness. Scooting to the end of the bunk she positioned herself and then rolled the Second Mate off the Captain, turning her until she was lying face down in Twat's juicy-sweet. Mounds would not have recognized her own name, but she knew what was in front of her and what to do with it. She latched on to it and nursed on it as the First Mate had nursed upon her breast. Soon Twat was screaming out her orgasm as well. The Second Mate rolled over, resting her head on Twat's thigh. "You... were... right... that's... amazing... but... it takes... a lot... of work... to get... there..." "I agree," panted Twat, "not your everyday meal but every so often, it's a damn fine treat." "Yeah... treat." "What next," asked the Captain? "Your turn," his crewmates said in unison. * * * * * Harry and Margo were making out on the couch when the delivery driver with their Chinese food rang the doorbell. Carol slipped on her t-shirt, grabbed the money and went to get the door. * * * * * Kelly Culberson delivered Chinese food to help pay for college. She'd seen some strange things, but unlike every piece of bad porn ever written, she'd never had a naked woman, or naked man for that matter, open the door. She'd never been offered sex as a tip, been drug into someone's place and ravished, never been swept off her feet and taken away from the humdrum life of a delivery driver... ok, maybe that last one was a fantasy of hers, not the product of bad porn, but it had still never happened. The door opened. "Lotus Hunan, I'm here with your delivery-" * * * * * As Carol opened the door she saw before her an attractive black girl, slender build but with moderate-sized breasts, a decent ass, wearing jeans, a blue 'Lotus Hunan' shirt and a Texas A&M baseball cap to keep her long straightened hair out of her face. It was her heart-shaped face with its full cheeks and green eyes that grabbed Carol's attention. * * * * * The door gets opened by a cute little white girl wearing quite obviously nothing but a t-shirt, there's a water pipe out in plain view and the smell of ganja rolls out the door in a faint but perceivable fog. "-but I don't know if I can let you have this food." She smiled a large, friendly, "I'm-just-fucking-with-you" smile. "See, under Article Four, Sub-Paragraph Twelve of the Delivery Driver's Code, I'm not allowed to leave food with people who might be hungry due to their usage of illicit pharmaceuticals as that could make me an accessory after and before the fact." Carol looked over at Harry, who Kelly couldn't see, with a questioning look. He smiled and shrugged as if to say "go ahead". "Oh please, Ms. Delivery Driver," Carol said, "let me have the food." "I don't know... the DDC says-" Carol dropped to her knees on the rug before Kelly. She put her hands around Kelly's ankle and slowly began to caress up her leg. "Please Ms. Driver-" "Kelly." "Please Ms. Kelly-" "Just Kelly." "Please Kelly; I'll do almost anything if you let me have the food." Carol looked up at her as her hands stroked past her knee and headed upwards, licking her lips. "Almost anything." As she approached Kelly's crotch she felt her tense, so she steered around it and ran her hands up the neutral areas at the sides, then slowly stood, her eyes locked with Kelly's as she kept her body pressed tightly to the surprised young woman's. Her voice dropped to a throaty whisper. "You can't imagine how-" she stared down to Kelly's breasts "-hungry I am, Kelly. You can't be so mean as to make me go hungry, can you?" Kelly's eye flickered, ever so slightly, barely perceptibly, to the open door. Never breaking eye contact, Carol eased over, with Kelly following, and closed the door. Carol stood on her tip toes and sniffed her victim's neck and ears. "Mmmm, Kelly," she whispered, "you smell good." "I smell hot and sweaty, it's a hundred and-" "Shhhh, you smell good to me. You smell good enough to eat." And Carol took the front of Kelly's shirt, brought the spellbound driver down to her level and gently bit her on her bottom lip. She ran her tongue along her jaw line up to her ear and said, "Do you want me to eat you, Kelly?" "I- I want... you to take off... that shirt." With movements like a belly dancer she brought her arms together and seemingly the shirt shrugged itself off, over her head. Kelly stared in amazement. "Anything else, Kelly, or do I get to eat you now?" "Th-the c-c-collar." Carol put her arms around Kelly's neck and guided her to a sitting position on the floor. She straddled her, pressing herself close, and then murmured in her ear. "Sorry Princess, you may be-" she ran her tongue along Kelly's neck "-mmmm, one of the fairest in the land, but that's the 'almost' in 'almost anything'. Think of that collar like Excalibur-" she licked her way down the front of Kelly's shirt, unbuttoning three buttons as she went "-and you're not King Arthur." "Who i-is Arthur?" "Him." Carol motioned with her head towards the couch, previously hidden by the open door. Kelly turned and saw a young white couple, both naked and sitting sprawled, open legged. The guy was handsome enough although nothing to give any movie star or bodybuilder a run for their money and the woman was quite lovely. She was stroking his erect cock and he had his hand in her crotch as they watched, smiling. "What are they doing over there? Who are-" "Shhhh, Kelly, you don't have to worry about a thing," Carol said, returning Kelly's attention to her, "they're just watching. You probably never would have noticed them but you asked who Arthur was and I told you. You don't have a thing to worry about from them, Princess; you need to worry about me." Carol unhooked the front of Kelly's bra and freed her breasts to fall loose. Somehow, while Kelly wasn't watching her shirt had been unbuttoned all the way down, and this little temptress had undone her jeans. "I, uh, I need to get what you, uh, owe and go." In a flash Carol was on her knees, money in her hand, eyes still locked with Kelly's. "Kelly, are you very, very sure-" she licked her lips "-you need to go? I mean, if you have to..." Kelly found herself on her knees in front of Carol, lifting her face up into a kiss. "Well, it is a slow afternoon at the restaurant; take me, I'm yours," she murmured into Carol's open mouth. As the two beauties locked in a kiss and embrace, Margo whispered to Harry, "How the hell does she do that?" Harry responded, "Don't ask me, maybe it's because no one's ever told her she can't do that." "I wish I had that kind of power over anyone." "You do my love, you have it over me." "I do not." "Yes you do, go ahead and try." Margo sat up and faced Harry, capturing his attention with her eyes. "Harry, if I have that kind of power over you-" she licked his lips and leaned back "-then cum for me." The hand she had been stroking his dick with felt the eruption rocketing through him. She turned to look and saw the ropes of semen fountain out, falling back to cover her hand and his crotch. "Told you." Back on the floor, Kelly was oblivious to everything but Carol, who had her stripped down and was kissing her way back and forth from breast to breast, nipple to nipple. "So... do you do this... to all your...delivery... drivers?" Carol stopped, looked up at her. "Oh no, just the ones that look like you do when my eyes are closed." "What do I look like... with your eyes closed?" "You're naked-" "Big surprise there." "Shhhh, you're naked, your hair is natural, long and braided into hundreds of braids that hang down the back of your head, colored with red clay, you're holding a spear half again as tall as you are, you're adorned with beads of amber and bracelets of gold and tattooed all over your body with exquisite and intricate designs and you're the most regal and beautiful African princess in the world. That's what I see when I close my eyes." Oil of Roses Ch. 06 "You know, I could get in a lot of trouble with you," Kelly said, kissing the palms of Carol's hands. Carol kissed and nibbled her way down the young woman's belly to her crotch. "Trouble?" she murmured as she began to lick Kelly's pussy. "Why, whatever could you mean, Princess?" Kelly laid back and snagged a pillow to put under her head. This had turned into the oddest delivery of her career. She snickered under her breath. Okay, maybe this sort of thing did happen outside of bad porn stories. Carol felt her victim's legs wrap around her head, dark, jet flesh surrounding her. Something about this girl, this woman, she awoke Carol's slumbering urge to take and possess and bend to her will, what Carol had always jokingly thought of as her masculine side. She licked down her damp and puffy slit, kissing out to the sides and tasting the sweat, clamping her lips down upon the succulence of the tender inner thigh in front of her and sucking on it, marking it, feeling Kelly writhe and moan beneath her as she did. If her strap-on was within reach she'd have this beauty bent over a pile of cushions and be fucking Kelly like Harry sometimes fucked Carol, hard and fast and merciless. Kelly was reeling. The effects of the assault this little devil-woman was making on her pussy was like nothing she'd ever felt before. She was in no position to analyze all the factors that might be contributing to it although she felt their audience wasn't hurting at all, but this girl was coming on like a guy. Kelly really wouldn't be surprised if she magically somehow grew a dick and then fucked Kelly till her brain exploded. Carol raised her head and climbed up over Kelly's supine body to squat over her face. Taking Kelly by the hair, she pulled her face into her musky wetness. "Eat me, Princess." Kelly began to lick her, nibbling on occasion, sucking often. This woman tasted good, better than either of the other girls she'd experimented with. She had found her experimentations enough to open her to further exploration, but not enough for her to change her mental orientation from 'heterosexual'. In the space of a half hour, this little lunatic had her as a card-carrying bisexual and a damned eager one. As she sucked on her clit, Carol began to bear down in time with her sucking, fucking her mouth as if she had a dick. Kelly found herself wishing the woman could grow one. Carol lifted off her and lay atop her, licking her juices off Kelly's face. "What's... your... name?" Kelly asked. "Carol, pleased to eat you." "Kelly, pleased to eat you too." Then Carol moved back and began grinding their crotches together. "Princess, would you like to smoke with me," she asked, "or do you have some illusion of getting back to work this afternoon?" "Fuck work, I was only on till five anyway. I'd love to burn some with you." They moved across the room and got comfortable. As Carol was loading the pipe, Kelly dug around underneath her, trying to find what she was sitting on, eventually pulling up a long blue two-headed dildo. "Lookee here what I found! Just what the doctor ordered to keep you and I happy and healthy while we partake of the herb!" She throated one end of the toy, leaving it wet with saliva and slipped it in her without any trouble. "Oops, it's already really wet down there, guess I didn't need to worry about lubrication." She smiled lasciviously. Carol smiled and fired up the pipe. Positioning herself opposite Kelly she bent her end of the toy to her cunt and it slid right in. "Me either," she said. They smoked and Kelly slowly moved the dildo back and forth between them. As she looked over at the couch, Harry and Margo were locked in an embrace, kissing and holding each other. "You want to ask Arthur and Guinevere if they want some smoke... or something else?" she asked Carol, smiling mischievously as she rubbed her clit. "No Princess, leave them be. She's leaving tonight and we don't know when we'll see her again. I'm trying to let them have some time." They smoked and played with themselves in silence for awhile. Kelly finally broke the quiet. "So the three of you?" "Uh huh, the three of us; messy, sappy, romantic love." "And yet you're here with me and we've been doing what we've been doing..." "Don't be silly, Princess, this isn't love, this is lust." "Damn straight, now if that bowl is done, come here and let's relieve some of that lust." On the couch, Harry and Margo held each other, gazing into each other's eyes. "I'm serious, Harry. Trust her instincts implicitly. When I come back if shit's gotten bad, I'm going to know you didn't listen to her." "Margo, relax and don't worry so much. Her track record is perfect, as far as I'm concerned, and I'm going to stop placing bets against her in the opening minutes. I thought she was crazy when she asked about the delivery girl. Show's what I know." "You know, we could go and join them over at the pipe, Harry, I don't think Kelly would mind at all." "Do you want to go over there?" "Honestly, no. But I didn't know if maybe you did." "Margo, if you weren't leaving tonight..." "Yeah, same here, she is a sweet looking girl..." On the floor Carol had Kelly's butt up on some pillows and was sucking on her clit while fucking her with the dildo, stabbing her with it as if it were a knife. Kelly, head on the floor and buried between Carol's thighs, was making all the noise of a very happy woman who was getting happier by the minute. As the two pleasured one another, it seemed not so much an erotic dance as Carol taking Kelly and making Kelly her own. As she shuddered through another orgasm, she moved from on top of Kelly. "Time to switch, Princess." "Right, babe." And they changed positions, now Carol had her face buried in Kelly's pussy while Kelly sucked on her clit and stabbed her with the toy. Carol brought her legs up and around, locking them above Kelly's back. Kelly found her head surrounded by warm and tasty flesh. It was almost enough to distract her from her somewhat militant assault on Carol's cunt but she wouldn't be deterred... the soft plump thighs brushed the side of her head and as she licked Carol her teeth longed to bite them... she felt what she thought was a thumb, playing with her pussy while Carol licked it... the thigh brushing her face... a finger stroking her ass... pussy... thigh... finger... and like a lightning bolt a wet thumb shot up her butt! She whipped her head around and bit Carol's inner thigh. The two of them shuddered and cried together, collapsing onto the floor and laying there as they rode out their orgasms. Then they curled up in each others arms and laughed together. As they lay there, exhausted, Harry and Margo came in with the reheated Chinese food and bottles of water. "Hope you like Kung Pao Chicken or Sesame Chicken, Kelly," Harry said. "We haven't been introduced. I'm-" "Arthur and she's Guinevere. And if those aren't your real names I don't want to know that right now." "Okaaaaaay... so, dig in if you're hungry." "Famished and I'm pleased to meet you." The four of them sat and ate, naked, the smell of sex almost as strong in the air as the smell of pot, talking with each other, getting to know each other.. * * * * * "Alright, I've got to go. Listen, anytime you guys want Chinese food during the day, Monday through Wednesday, or on Friday or Saturday night, you call Lotus Hunan and you ask for me. If I'm out on a run, call my cell, Carol has the number." She kissed the short woman deeply. "And if you want Chinese when I'm not working, call me on the cell and I'll go get you your Chinese," she looked at all of them seductively, "or whatever else you want." With that she sauntered out the door. "Whoa," said Margo, "is it just me, or did her leaving lower the level of heat in here by about fifteen degrees?" "She is hot," agreed Harry. "So how is she, you evil little tart?" "Beyond the valley of the majorly Yummy," Carol answered. "So, you just opened the door and had a good feeling about her?" "No sir, I opened the door and I wanted her. She started kidding me and I was going to have her, short of her saying 'No'. I got a taste of her skin and I'm not sure even 'No' would've stopped me." "But there was a good feeling in there somewhere?" asked Harry. "Please tell me we didn't just watch you and Jill the Ripper fuck in our living room." "Oh, no sir, she's good people. The good feeling just wasn't the first thing that hit me." She smiled. "Although, if it'll make you feel any better, I don't have that kind of reaction to people I don't get good feelings off of or at least, I haven't yet." "Ah, well, that eases my mind." Harry lay down and put his head in Carol's lap. Margo began to stroke his thighs. "So, Baby Girl, what was with going all butch on her?" "Mmmm," Carol said as Harry kissed her thigh, "I wondered that myself. I don't know, but whatever it was, it was powerful and it was in charge. Next time I see her, I better have that strap-on handy because she and I are going to fuck, no question about it." "So you think we'll see Kelly again?" asked Harry from her lap. Two beautiful faces looked at him with expressions of cynical disbelief. "Did he really ask that question?" "Well Carol, Harry always was a slow child." "Margo, I blame it on his drug use." * * * * * Harry sighed. If there was a time to be tense and a little wary of what was coming, he was rapidly approaching it. While he had found the ceiling beams and mounted the hardware in them, he had been able to ignore what he was preparing for but now the swing was hung and two women were looking at him expectantly. "C'mon Cap'n darlin'," said Twat, "I'll be the one steerin' an' you've heard no complaints about me abilities." "Mmmm, no you haven't," chimed in Mounds, "trust me Cap'n, she'll treat you gentle." It was the buzzing of the 'mystery' in his butt that decided it once and for all. "If we're gonna string me up, let's be about it," he said. He would have felt much better without the gleams of evil glee in the eyes of his crewmates. * * * * * Even with his hands bound behind his back, the swing was incredibly comfortable and the physical and emotional stresses of the preceding days had caused him to drift into a semi-doze as he hung face-down, supported by its straps. He awoke when someone released his legs and pivoting at the hips, they hit the floor, leaving him almost kneeling. They'd blindfolded him as he napped and as he came awake the ball gag was put in his mouth and buckled behind his head. It was an intriguing feeling, most of his weight supported, unable to see, unable to speak, unable to move his hands, at the mercy of two beautiful, but wicked, women... he found himself trying to feel outside of his body, striving to extend his nerves by force of will alone. The Captain had never really been aware of how much he relied on his eyes before but now with them darkened his world had changed dramatically. His nostrils grasped for every smell, his ears for every sound no matter how faint or insignificant. It was his ears that found them first. In front of him, skin caressing skin, breath, two people breathing, the breaths becoming husky, sounded like kissing, there was a little moan, Mounds he thought, sucking noises, oh, that was Twat, he knew that moan, his First Mate was having her nipples sucked, his cock was hardening, the sounds were edging closer, almost right below his head he heard it, a smooth wet noise, continuing in a rhythm, flesh slapping, his dick was painfully erect as he realized that Twat was fucking his Second Mate, right there below him, yes, he could smell it now, their perfumes, their passions, they were moving around, shifting, what... Oh... OH... Mounds must be on her hands and knees while Twat took her from behind because she had wrapped her lips around his cock... OH... he wanted to thrust into her mouth, he pushed with his feet and the chain behind him clanked as he took up the minimal slack that was in it... he couldn't go any further forward... they were laughing and he didn't care, he was straining against the chain, his wet cock cooling in the air... they were fucking just out of reach... God's mercy, they were cruel...he heard Mounds' excitement rising, rising quickly... and there she went, oh, she sounded so beautiful when she came... "Now eat me, wench", Twat's voice... wet slurping sounds... he was humping the air... Twat was coming, he knew those cries... they were laying there... sounded like they were kissing... "That was luscious, Twat, but I'm hungry"... "Aye, me as well"... they left... he was still humping at nothing... They came back from the galley... fruit... strawberries... apples... pears... rum... the blindfold was lifted, just giving him a thin slit to see through but his eyes clung to it like a drowning man clung to a spar... the two most gorgeous wenches in the world sat on the floor, legs wide open, cunts on display, cutting up fruit, passing the bottle of rum back and forth... and then they started eating... slowly... sensually...sucking each piece into their mouths, juices running down their chins... it was agony... it was torture... licking the juices from each other's faces... Twat and Mounds moved closer... the smells grew stronger...they were just a foot in front of him... surely he could stretch a chain one bleeding foot... Twat started it, vile Twat, depraved Twat... she collected some of her own moistness on two fingers... grabbed a piece of pear with them... offered it to Mounds... the Second Mate took the pear and drew both fingers into her mouth and sucked on them... "Mmmm"... He would get them for this! He would cut them and drag them behind the ship as shark bait! He'd give them as slaves to the Taino tribesmen! He'd sell the two of them out to the French! Or he'd put much thought and planning into a suitable revenge. Something devious, something low, something perverted... It dawned on the Captain that the whimpering that was assailing his ears was his own. Behind the ball gag he was in misery, watching as his two loves exchanged tastes of themselves and fruit... yet it went on... and on... as if his cock's pain was not sufficient, every so often one of them would caress it briefly... and they licked... kissed... sucked... ate... it seemed something was shaking him... "Me thinks he's ready," said Twat. "Me thinks he's damn near unconscious," said Mounds. The First Mate stood up, lowered his blindfold back into position and went around behind him, buckling on her harness. "How long do you think he'll last once you get that in him?" "I'm not sure he'll last until it's all the way in," Twat replied. The Second Mate got into position, ready to wrap her loving lips around his cock. Above her the Captain trembled and behind the blindfold his eyes were glassy marbles. The First Mate oiled up her shaft and then slowly pulled the 'mystery' out of his hole. There was a brief spasm when it was finally out but then he settled back down to his normal quivering. "Ready?" Twat asked. "Ready" Mounds put her lips around his cock, not really touching it. Twat grabbed his hips and brought the tip of her tool to the puckered target. She poured a little more oil on the area and slowly pressed the tip against the hole. The Captain's whimpers raised half an octave but he stopped pulling forward and relaxed in his place. Taking it as a good sign, Twat pressed it in, even more carefully than she had with Mounds, easing it in so slowly that her progress was almost imperceptible until she was halfway in where she paused to rest and relax the tension from her legs and thighs. The Captain's feet were trying to pull him backwards, towards her and deeper penetration so she once again moved it in, more confidently. As for his part, the Captain was lost in sensation. There had been pain, but now the pain was gone and there was the most interesting and delightful feeling of fullness in his bottom. It was like the 'mystery' but better and as it finally was in all the way it was very good and it pulled out and there was something, someone putting their mouth around his OH sucking his dick and it was mostly out and coming back in and the sucking was with the fucking and it was all the same rhythm and he was coming and he kept coming and there wasn't anything left to come but he really didn't get soft because the mouth was so warm and felt so good and his ass and she kept fucking him and he... she... there was some... and... time... and he was getting sort of hard... and he was coming and it wasn't much and it was starting to hurt, his dick was... and she stopped sucking... and she stopped fucking him... And he was crying...because it was over... And he was on the floor and they were holding him and stroking his face... And he still couldn't catch his breath... But that got better... "That... was... incredible... me thinks... I came... blood..." "No darlin', no blood, I woulda tasted it," said Mounds. "Oh you're a pair o' evil bitches and I loves ye more than I can say." * * * * * After showers for the three of them, they were laying on the bed when Harry's phone rang. Carol hopped up and got it. "Harry Grime's phone, Carol speaking... hello Ms. Pinard, yes, he's right here... I'll put him on... well, it appears I will be... well thank you, Karen, I will... alright, here he is..." Harry took the phone, shaking his head. "Hello Karen, how's everything at the salt mine? Good... well, I was planning on it... yes, she told you a little white lie... severely hung over... yes, yes Karen, as you so delicately put it, we've been boning our brains out... well I'm glad too... I'll pass that along to her... well if you're sure... I'll be in Tuesday for the Scott meeting, Wednesday for the De Freitas meeting... well, we'll have to talk about that when I'm in... I may swing by to introduce you two tomorrow afternoon... alright, take care, Sappho... yes, I know I haven't called you that in months... goodbye." "Carol, Karen says she owes you dinner at whatever restaurant your heart desires." "Why?" "I think it has something to do with me sounding like I'm alive, as opposed to the zombie she's been carrying as a partner the last six months. She's very appreciative." "Hmm, I'll have to think on that." "And what did she ask you about?" "Oh, whether I was going to be answering your phone from now on. If I was, I should call her Karen." * * * * * The three lovers went to sleep; Harry and Margo curled up around Carol. Sometime in the night, Margo got up, got dressed, wrote her beloveds a note and drove away. Oil of Roses Ch. 07 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Effusive thanks to Holly, the beloved and erotic Sister Decadence for her encouragement, editorial review and kind words. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * "My Beloved Harry, My Precious Carol, It's 3 AM and I have to go. Please believe me when I say this is the hardest goodbye I've ever skipped out on. If I stayed to say it face-to-face, I'm not sure I could go. Know in your hearts I will see you again. Know in your hearts I will come home to you. My love is with you always, entwined with your souls, Margo" * * * * * Carol awoke to the smell of coffee. Straightening her collar she walked into the kitchen to find Harry at the table. He stared out the window like a lost soul, one hand limp on the table next to the cup of coffee and bottle of Jack Daniels. The note was held in his other seemingly lifeless hand. She took the note and read it. She stepped in front of him and knelt, putting her head at eye level. "I kept hoping she'd change her mind, that all our talking of her leaving would change her mind," he muttered, still staring at a thousand bleak miles of nothing. "Harry, baby, you knew it wouldn't. If that would've changed her mind, she wouldn't be the woman we love. I tell you what, let's get buzzed and spend all day fucking and cuddling. I know we'll feel better after that." His eyes focused and he looked at her, a smile starting to spread across his face. "Oh babe, that does sound like a hell of a plan and making love with you is the best cure for whatever ails me but we have things to do today. I'll be fine. How're you doing? Are you doing okay?" "No Harry, I'm just waiting my turn to miss her." "What do you mean?" "Well, you got up first, you found the note, you looked like a shattered pane of glass when I came in. I need to be together to see you through that. When I no longer need to be together, then I can miss her." "Could you stand a little 'missing her' time now?" "Yeah Harry," she said, the tears flowing down her cheeks, "if you're okay, I really could." He got down on the floor and held her as she cried, rocking her back and forth. And then they were crying together, rocking each other. To have found someone so dear and precious to them both only for her to be gone again left a massive aching emptiness and knowing that she was coming back didn't help at the moment. The step from there to Harry carrying his precious pet to the bedroom wasn't that far at all. He laid Carol on the bed and got in beside her as she turned on her side to face him. For a time they just lay there, gently touching each other, staring into each other's eyes. Then Harry eased down her body, pushing her to her back and opening her legs. He began to kiss her, her cunt lips, her clit, her inner thighs, licking and worshipping, slowly and lovingly. "Are you thinking of her?" she asked. "No Baby Girl," he replied, "I'm thanking God that you're here, you're mine and that you love me." "Oh sir, you know just how to melt my heart." And he continued to make love to her with his tongue, dreamily and gently, and she came for him, quietly and languorously and often. He took his time as he was in no hurry; away from that bed was a home without one of its family but between the legs of his precious he could for a time forget, at the same time showing the first most important woman in his life his love for her. He was safe with her and the part of him that needed comfort found it in her through a touch or being held in her arms or by lying between her thighs or making love to her. The essence of her, whatever it was, soothed him and healed him. When his mind would flicker to their world without their beloved Margo it would skitter back to the comfort of her and his making love to her continued. After quite some time had passed, she reached down and grabbed his hair and pulled on it. "Come up here sir, that's been most lovely, but now I want to do something for you." He moved up the bed to lie with his head beside hers. She faced him and kissed the end of his nose. "So Harry, how may I please you? What would you have me do? Who would you have me be?" "I want a slightly more romantic version of the first orgasm you ever gave me," he said, smiling. She thought back. "Oh, so you want it to be romantic and a hand job, hmm? Well, trust me, that's well within my abilities. You lay here and I'll be right back." She scurried about, lighting candles, off to the kitchen and back again with a bottle of oil in a pot of hot water and then there she was, getting into position between his legs, sitting tailor fashion, his legs over her hips. "Harry, we're going to have to get you some romantic ballads on CD," she said, and then she began to sing "Unforgettable", her beautiful voice sending chills of pleasure up Harry's spine. As she sang she poured the warm rose-fragranced oil, his first scent-memory of her, spiraling it out, leaving thin trails up and down his thighs and across his belly. She put the bottle back in the pot on the bedside table to keep it warm. She worked the oil into his skin, starting on his legs, easing the tension out of him, her every move an act of love. As she finished the song, Harry was looking at her with adoration and amazement. "Beloved, why would you know old romantic songs?" She smiled. "A previous owner of mine was an older gentleman. He had a taste for them and a very good record collection." "You mean real vinyl records?" "Yes sir, real vinyl records, over five thousand of them, with the sound system to play them as they were meant to be played. I like to sing and they were beautiful so I learned them." "Then I'll shut up and let you sing to your heart's content. They bring back memories of the music my parents used to play all the time." She brushed his cock with her hands. "Why sir, I hope I don't remind you of your parents!" "Not particularly, you silly girl, but the songs remind me of happy times in this house and that's always a good thing." As she returned to her work, "Chances Are" began to spill from her lips. She moved from his thighs to his abdomen and he closed his eyes, enjoying the conflicting currents in his body. As always, her touch excited him and now was no exception, his erection was a constant thing, faintly bobbing as she kneaded his flesh beneath her hands but yet that very effort of hers drained the tension from the area. He wanted to come but he was in no particular hurry and felt quite content to let things happen when they happened. He could spend the rest of his life just being held by her and consider it a life well-lived. Through "Night and Day" she smoothed away his concerns. As she finished "Stardust", she brought out the warm oil and poured it on and around his cock. As she started "Begin the Beguine" her hands were swirling through his pubic hair and up onto his shaft. Harry lay back and closed his eyes. When she'd done this before he'd watched enough to know the physical mechanics of how she performed her magic, but dwelling on that was to rob the act of some of its wonder and to ignore the great mysteries that enshrouded it. How could she know exactly where to lightly touch him for just a fraction of a second to heighten his arousal before he himself realized that was the spot? How could she know the moods and tempers of his cock better than him? Was she really anticipating his reactions or leading them? In the end, Harry just stopped thinking and let her play him like a harp. As her fingers and palms danced on his dick he rushed towards orgasm only to have her change the tempo and the torrent would recede then she would bring it on again and he knew this time there was no stopping it but there was as she danced away from the brink and he felt his hips relax and lower to the bed. Her hands felt so soft and so good and before he knew it there it was, the point of no return and he was almost there and this was it she'd let him come and no, no she wouldn't, there was no climax this time. He lay there in sweetest agony, wondering what it would feel like if he were truly restrained, if she were free to play his entire body and him helpless to prevent it? He stored in his mental 'playtime' folder and gave himself back to her manipulations as she slowly sang the Cranberries' "Dreams" and he prayed to God he never hurt this beautiful soul and when the song was finished she said "I love you Harry" and his hips came up off the bed, and she hadn't even had to really touch him to set it off and oh God he loved her and he wanted her and he needed her and she was his. Harry sank back into the bed, lying there with his eyes closed, feeling his heartbeat bounce his cock as it slowly went limp. "Ick, it's cold already. Harry, semen doesn't hold heat worth a damn." Harry giggled, then chuckled. Opening his eyes he saw her, dribbles of cum in her hair and on her face, which wore a disgusted look. With that the chuckles became gales of laughter and she crawled up from between his legs and rubbed her hair all over him and it was cold and it was icky and so when they were both finished laughing and rolling over the bed with each other they headed for the shower. * * * * * They got dressed, Carol putting her leash chain on and running it down her front and then around her waist through her belt loops, looping it through again in the front. "So sir, where all are we going today?" "Breakfast, and then by the office so I can introduce you to Karen and get the address of an architect and a home contractor we did some work for, then we need to go see them. By the time we're through with all that it'll be supper time, after that we need to find someone about the work that's going to be done in the back yard." "Excuse me Harry, architect, home contractor?" "Oh, didn't I tell you? We're adding on to and remodeling the master bath. Tub for… several… giant shower, bidet, two toilets, two sinks and vanities, another full closet. Perhaps more." "A-a-and the back yard?" "Well, of course the hot tub, but we also need a much higher and much more impenetrable fence and you need to decide the size and shape of the pool, although I hope you can leave all the trees I have back there. The shade's really nice." One minute he was talking. The next he was on the floor on his back with a woman fucking his mouth with her tongue. What happened in-between he was never quite sure. * * * * * Karen Pinard took a moment to savor the change she'd heard in Harry's voice as she ate her lunch at her desk. He'd never know how sure she was that he was going to kill himself, either actively or just by losing focus on the road one night and piling into a convenient bridge embankment. She'd started emotionally distancing herself from him so it wouldn't hurt so much when he did. It wasn't that she didn't care or hadn't tried to bring him out of the despair he'd sunk into when that bitch gutted him. She'd tried to reach him, tried to find a spark of the man who'd been her friend since college and her business partner since the two of them had started their agency on a shoestring and a Visa card out of a tiny office in a strip mall nine years before. She couldn't find that spark. It didn't seem that he was dying so much as it seemed he'd already died and just hadn't lain down yet. It had ripped her apart to watch him diminish, day by day, as if he were receding in the distance while still right there with her. She was the one friend Angie hadn't pulled him away from and she raged at her helplessness. And the only reason Angie hadn't tried was that she was a greedy little whore and Karen was half of 'G & P's magic. Well, that and Angie knew that Karen would rip her in half, tie her hands together and use her for a jump-rope. At 5'5", 239 lbs someone might expect Karen Pinard to be overweight. And if it wasn't all muscle, she might've been. Built on a stocky German frame she had realized early on that the Good Fairy was never going to wave a magic wand and make her slim and willowy. If she was going to be a brick, she was going to be a brick with power. She exercised regularly, practiced Tae-Kwon-Do, performed strength training and always ate her Wheaties. With a clever job of tailoring, her suits could hide most of the evidence that she could break pretty much whomever she met. It helped in business if the clients weren't terrified. She really only had one vice. She liked to drink and it was something she had to keep tight reins on. Harry would never know that her concern for him and the drinking she'd done in her own despair had been the tiny straw that finally overloaded her latest romantic road-wreck of a relationship. Not that it would have lasted much longer anyway, but the last six months with Harry had punched the ticket early. No great loss in the long run. It was an affair doomed to failure before it began. Almost all of her relationships were. Patricia was just the latest in the long line of women who'd wanted more of Karen's life than she had to give. Still, Karen would miss her… until the next road-wreck. When Carol had called Thursday morning, Karen's first thought had been that Harry had had an accident, that maybe the final act of the opera was beginning and her character was finally to sing her aria. She was the last companion of the hero whose part it was to mourn his passing while stalking into the forest, seeking the witch that had taken his life, there to end hers with much Wagnerian Sturm und Drang. She was ready to play that role. She owed him that. The dream of 'G & P' had been hers, but the drive to make it real, belief in the dream enough for both of them, hell even the Visa card, those had been Harry's. She wasn't sure how the opera would have ended. She had hoped that she'd emerge out of the woods victorious and lay the witch's head upon Harry's tomb… but there was also the ending, most un-operatic, where she underwent a costume change into an orange jumpsuit and spent the rest of her life in a dungeon. That would've sucked and she was just as glad she'd not had to find out which ending she would have gotten. But since last night, instead of worrying about such things an instant longer, she was worrying about this new woman, this Carol, breaking his heart. * * * * * As they drove to his office, Harry told her the story. "So there we were, I was a stoner with a modern lit degree, completely un-hirable, and she had a marketing degree. She had a dream of a small advertising agency, just a little one to handle little clients, enough to make a living off of, but not much more. Nobody in the field would hire her, she had no money and she had given up." "We're sitting there, drunk off our ass on cheap tequila one night and I told her I had a little money, about $4500 courtesy of my grandfather's will and a Visa card with almost nothing on it and a decent credit line. We could start our own agency on that. I had to talk her into it like five times because she was so drunk she kept forgetting she'd agreed. So here's this messy drunk lesbian body builder hugging all over me, telling me she'd fuck me if I were a girl, I'm telling her I'd fuck her if I were a girl, we both cry a little because I'm not a girl." "Next morning I've got to come on like a Marine Corp D.I., all while I've got one of the five worst hangovers of my life, to get her out to find office space. I knew if we didn't move immediately, she'd never move at all. The first nine months we were so far under, it was she and I and my puppy all living in an efficiency, eating Mac & Cheese and Ramen Noodles and I still can't look at either. Thank God we were too busy and too broke for a love life because that would have gotten real embarrassing. After nine months, we had a party with a whole bottle of cheap champagne because we could afford a two bedroom and I could stop waking up about four times a week in the very tight grip of a body-builder having an amorous dream. I imagine she got a little tired of my morning wood getting lodged in her ass crack. We were both really fucking tired of Chipper's gas. Evidently, pasta of any kind didn't agree with him." "By the end of the first year, we maybe could have afforded separate apartments… maybe, but we were used to each other and so kept living with each other for another four years. I'd have to watch her spend way too much time with her free weights all over the house while she had to watch me sit on the porch, smoking dope and eating Captain Crunch. Then my parents died, Nicki didn't want the house, I kept it. G & P landed it's first major account, the company was finally, solidly, in the black, we and the staff, all five of them, went out to Persian Gulf Surf Club to celebrate. That's the night I met Angie. I moved into Mom and Dad's place, Karen got a condo. Angie and I starting dating, six months later we were married. G & P's done well ever since, although as I said earlier, she's been carrying Harry the Amazing Zombie for the last six months." "I owe her more than I could ever repay her, Beloved. For so long she was the only friend I had left. I know she'll like you." * * * * * When they got to the office, half a floor, 6,400 square feet, Harry breezed in to the receptionist. "Afternoon Rhonda, you look lovely today, any clients around?" "Uh, uh, uh-" "Rhonda, if you don't remember how to speak we're going to have to send you to special classes… again. You remember last time, electro-shock, ice baths, strait-jackets… ze injeckzions?" "No Mr. Grimes, no clients." "Thank you Rhonda. Rhonda, meet Carol, the light of my life and song of my heart. She'll be around from now on. Is the radiant Sappho in her office?" "Yes Mr. Grimes." "Thank you, Rhonda." Harry headed down a hallway and began singing loudly as he went forward into a handstand then over onto his feet and forward into another handstand on so on down the hall. "Sunshine… on my shoulders… makes my skiiiin peel. Sunshine… in my eyes… will make me bliiiiiind. Sunshine… on the water… causes boooooat wrecks. Sunshine… almost all the time… fries my miiiiiiind." Out of her office Karen came like a bull rushing a matador. "Harry! If you keep slaughtering that beautiful song I'm going to tie you into a tiny knot and use you for a soccer ball!" "Ah," Harry said, finishing his last rotation and leaping up into the air sideways, "the radiant Sappho descendeth from her bower in fair Lesbos' hills to take unto her muscular bosom her one and only…" Karen reached out and caught him in her arms. "ASSHOLE!" came the yell from many voices, all around them. Oil of Roses Ch. 07 Carol realized that she was in the middle of a ritual, a joyous celebration of… something… that had not occurred in such a long time. All the employees within hearing were out of their offices or up in their cubicles, watching and smiling and laughing. "All right galley slaves," Harry said, "back to the oars. Don't forget, the company picnic is loosely scheduled for the first weekend we can reasonably expect a high of only about 80 degrees. Once again for your entertainment I will be risking my life to wrestle Karen and this year, I just know I'm going to… lose again." He turned to look at the short woman supporting him effortlessly. "Hi, snookums. Love me? Miss me? Wanna throw me out a window?" Karen looked at him, her eyes filling with moisture. She kissed him on the cheek tenderly. "Yes, yes, not today." "Oh good, it would've spoiled my dinner plans. Karen Pinard, Carol Riley. Carol, go let Karen threaten you while I dig through my Rolodex." Karen let him down to the floor. He threw his arms around her neck and whispered, "It's ok, Sappho, I'm going to be alright. I'm sorry you had to carry me." "It's okay Harry, if I hadn't been so worried I'd of happily carried you for a lot longer than 6 short months." "I love you too, Sappho." He headed into his office. "Come in Carol, let's talk." Carol followed Karen into her office. A wall of art from various ad campaigns, a full bookshelf, a rack with chrome free weights, and a desk covered with paperwork. "Have a seat, Carol." "So Karen, this is when you threaten me if I hurt Harry, right?" "Pretty much." "Then I'll go you one better. If I hurt Harry maliciously, with intent," Carol said, standing up and leaning on Karen's desk, locking eyes with her, "I expect you to take me out where my body will never be found and hurt me as badly as you can for as long as you can keep me alive. I don't much care what you do to my body after I leave it." Staring into her eyes, Karen could see that Carol was serious. "Now Karen, if I hurt him unintentionally, without malice, I'll ask you to get the full story before you hurt me, and let the full story determine how much you hurt me. Notice, I didn't say whether you hurt me, merely how much. Fair enough?" "Fair enough." "Karen, how open-minded are you?" "Reasonably, I'm a liberal Democrat lesbian business owner." "Hmm, interesting mix… you know Harry's friend Margo?" "Yeah, one of the one's Angie had him dump. Why?" "Well, Harry and I aren't so much a couple as we're two-thirds of a trio." Karen sat back and Carol began to fill her in. * * * * * By the time she finished, Harry had joined them. Karen came around her desk and hugged the two of them. "It's about goddamn time. And the same as far as Margo's concerned. I mean, it's not exactly my cup of tea, but look at my track record and tell me I know anything about relationships." "Patricia gone?" "Yeah Harry, it was bound to happen sooner or later. With this job and my own personal obsessions, I just don't have time for a real person. I wonder, do they make inflatable lesbians?" "Karen, you wanted to talk to me about cutting back my schedule so I could have a life outside of this office. So I wouldn't neglect it like I did with Angie. Well pot, kettle calling, check your damn skin tone." "But Harry, we have so much to do-" "Then let's sit down and figure out how much it will take for us to keep everybody and provide for ourselves comfortably and take on not much more business than that would require, or let's hire some executive level help. Lord knows we have the business to justify it now. If we expand anymore, we'll have to hire someone at that level anyway. Let's just go ahead and do it and have lives." He took Karen by the shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. "Sappho, please believe me, I'm re-discovering how important a life is. Don't wait any longer to do the same. We'll turn the headhunters loose tomorrow, hell, get on the phone and turn them loose this afternoon. Then get the fuck out of here, go find Patricia, ask her to give you another chance and tell her how things are going to be different and make them different. Please, don't wait another day to be happy, not another hour, not another minute." "This her doing?" she asked, nodding towards Carol. "Yep, it is." "Then I not only owe her dinner anywhere she wants, I owe her much more. Okay Harry, I'll call the headhunters." Harry hugged his old friend tightly to him. "Okay, I've got business to tend to and then we need to jet." He went to Carol, "Play along with me, angel" and put an envelope in each sleeve, one in the front of her pants and one in each boot. "Come with me." As they exited Karen's office he began yelling. "OH, THE CARSON COOTIES ACCOUNT! I'VE GOT IT, I'VE GOT THE ANGLE! I KNOW WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO!" Carol heard a woman tell someone on the phone, "I've got to go, the boss is inspired, big office brainstorming meeting and you'll have to call back." "CARSON COOTIES, THE BANE OF OUR EXISTENCE, I'VE GOT IT, THE ACCOUNT FROM HELL, I'VE SEEN IT, OUR WHOLE AD CAMPAIGN." From another cube, Carol heard a man's voice, "No, really, you don't understand, I've got to let you go, right now, the boss is in a very creative space and we've got to strike while the iron is hot. Goodbye." "SINGING COOTIES, DANCING ACROSS THE STAGE, BUSBY BERKLEY MUSICAL NUMBER, SEQUINS, TOP HATS AND TAILS!" From an office, "No, I mean right now. No, I won't put you on hold, it could be hours, you'll have to call back, it's vital that we get in there while he's in this mood. Goodbye." "CARSON'S COOTIES ON YOUR BUTTS CARSON'S COOTIES NOT FOR SLUTS, CARSON'S COOTIES GOOD WITH NUTS, CARSON'S COOTIES IN YOUR GUTS." The whole of the office, Karen included, was laughing, following Harry as he headed to the break room. Once every one was inside and the laughter had died down, he looked at them all. "Alright, I hope all of you got off the phones in time. If you didn't, you know to tell them I was having another fit." "I've been AWOL for awhile and I know that it's been hard to put up with having the emotional black hole in the offices. Thank all of you for that. And because this happy task has traditionally fallen to me, it hasn't been performed since I went into a slump. Therefore I'm pretty sure we're guaranteed an interesting time today." "I'd like you all to meet my lady, Carol, the one responsible for me being the happy man you see today." A chorus of greetings washed over Carol from the smiling employees. "And she has graciously agreed to be my assistant for today's drawing. You know the rules, elect your representative and although it's been a long time since we did one of these, Karen and I would really appreciate it if you chose someone unlucky." The thirty or forty employees talked among themselves and after about ten minutes had elected a thin man with a receding hairline. "Ah, damn, you had to go pick Dan. Dan, how many times have you beaten the system?" "Eight, Mr. Grimes." "How many times has the system beaten you?" "Never, Mr. Grimes." "Damn… well, alright, point to an envelope, same locations as always, arms, legs, body." "That's easy Mr. Grimes, she has it all, so the body." Harry smiled, "You're right, she does have it all" and he pulled the envelope from her front. "Today's semi-whenever, just cause we love each and every one of you hardworking galley slaves, bonus du jour is…" The breakroom was roaring as it seemed everyone was beating a drumroll on whatever they could. He opened the envelope with a flourish, but not so smooth of one that Carol didn't see him slip more money into the envelope. "Oh Dan, you've wounded our bank account again, twelve hundred dollars!" The employees cheered, whooped, hollered, whistled; gathered around Dan and gave him hugs and handshakes. "Oh God, oh, I can't stand it, I'm going to have to get out of here and go moan in peace somewhere, Karen will give you your bonuses but before I go, let's check the other envelopes." One held three hundred, one four fifty, one six hundred, one nine. "My first day back, so to speak, and you thirty-three vultures pick our bones for twelve hundred apiece. Oh, I may be sick." And grinning madly, Harry headed for the door. * * * * * "Harry, do they ever get the lowest amount?" "Huh?" "I saw your sleight-of-hand." "Oh… well, never the lowest, but sometimes the second lowest, most often the second highest, with Dan always one of the two highest." "Why?" "He's not real socially adept and now he's sort of a good luck charm. It's helped him fit in. Really a nice guy once you get to know him." "How'd they pick him in the first place?" "They didn't. We reserve the right to choose the volunteer when we so choose. We just don't do it very often." "Have I told you lately that I love you?" "With every touch." * * * * * "Sir, before we decide on a bidet or hot tub, we need to see Antoinette." "Who's Antoinette?" "Well, originally she was the person in the 'underground' to see for anything involving water sports, medical play, catheters, enemas; but then she realized that there was a market in custom bathroom equipment and such, ostensibly for the 'serious fetishist' but in reality, just some fantastic equipment and very reasonably priced for custom work." "Uh huh… is there anything about Antoinette you think you should warn me about?" "Well, she is a bit of an exhibitionist and a bit of a voyeur." "How much is a bit?" "She'll expect us to try out our selections." "You mean sit on the bidet?" "No sir, I mean use it. And she'll probably demonstrate it for us as well." * * * * * In a semi-abandoned industrial park on the east side of town, they rolled up to Antoinette's. The warehouse looked much like any other, it's only distinguishing characteristic the yellow neon "A" perched on a neon toilet. As the display was only about five feet high and not visible from the street, it would be hard to find unless you knew what you were looking for. They parked behind some trucks that screened their car from view. Entering through a non-descript door they found themselves in a mass of piping, all hissing and gurgling and churning and flushing. "Jesus Christ! What's in all of them?" "I asked her that once. She told me it's really just all for show. It creates the ambiance that some of her more extreme customers enjoy. If you're into bodily functions, I could see how this place could turn you on." They saw a young man in a vinyl set of doctor's scrubs approaching. "Yes," Carol said, "Mr. Grimes and pet, we called ahead." "Right this way, Antoinette is expecting you." He led them through the burbling and pumping industrial nightmare to the showroom, which seemed to be in the heart of the building. Antoinette was a very tall, statuesque, platinum blonde, perhaps 6'3". It was obvious to look at her that she had had extensive cosmetic surgery done to augment… everything. Her cartoonish physique was crammed into a vinyl nurses outfit. She extended her hand. "Mr. Grimes, how lovely to make your acquaintance." Harry used skills honed by years in the ad business to show no reaction to her appearance except pleasure, took her hand and kissed it. "Antoinette, your beauty, your radiance; the pleasure is all mine, I assure you." "Mr. Grimes, how sweet of you to say so. How may I help you today?" "First, a bidet. My pet tells me you have contacts with a craftsman who does custom work of the highest quality." "And she'd be correct. Come this way." She walked a few steps over, sat down on a commode and began to urinate. After a brief time, she shook herself slightly, and then stood up, walked over to what appeared to be a transparent toilet and, grabbing a set of hand rails attached to a low pipe, straddled the seat. She reached down to a control panel and a spray of water began to rinse her crotch. "Mr. Grimes, have you ever used a bidet? Marvelous tool for cleanliness no matter your sex. Refreshing, cleansing, invigorating. I swear to you sir, there are days I could happily spend all my time atop this heaven-sent device. And this, a custom unit loosely modeled on the Daelim Dobidos Electronic, is absolutely the top of the line. Multiple spray heads, all self cleaning. Easily adjustable temperature control, just the thing for disciplining recalcitrant young girls, adjustable spray force, but with a maximum pressure well within safety guidelines, no chance of accidents, heated seat comes standard, warm air drying system, comfortable seating options, including backrests. I know the craftsman personally and believe me, no matter how extreme or unusual your request could possibly be, he could craft just the bidet for you." "Knowing some of her clientele I don't want to think how extreme some of the requests have been," Carol murmured under the gurgling of a nearby pipe. "Now Mr. Grimes, I insist you try it for yourself or I shall be very cross with you. Indeed I might refuse to do business with you altogether." "Heaven forfend, Antoinette." He took a deep breath, took off his loafers and socks, shucked his pants and boxers, took the requisite piss and then mounted the bidet like he was getting on a Harley. "You should try numbers two, three and four, Mr. Grimes." Harry hit '2'. A warm spray of water oscillated around his cock. It felt quite good. Then he hit '3'. Three warmer sprays of water fanned back and forth across his asshole. As he was still a little tender from the day before, he found that delightful. After hitting '4', both the previous were going at once. It felt wonderful… and stimulating… Harry realized he was getting a hard-on in a transparent bowl. He punched '4' again quickly. Antoinette was smiling at him indulgently. "Exactly the effect it's supposed to have Mr. Grimes. Nothing in the world is better than getting clean in preparation for getting messy again immediately thereafter. Now hit 'dry'." He did so and warm air caressed him from front to back. It was decadent, it was hedonistic and he was going to get one. Two was not out of the realm of possibility as it was a two-woman house. "Alright Antoinette," he said as he got up and began to get dressed, "I'm sold. Now on to the hot tubs." "Mr. Grimes, if you're going to be looking at hot tubs, why are you dressing?" He saw her point. They walked even further into the bowels of the building. They approached possibly the most incongruous sight Harry had seen in a long time. In the midst of the warehouse's industrial gastrointestinal ambiance was a hot tub showroom, complete with lattice fencing behind the models covered in plastic flowering plants. "Mr. Grimes, I can tell that you're a man of quality, a man of distinction, a man with impeccable tastes and for such a man as you, I wouldn't offer anything less than our very best." She led them over to a huge hot tub that looked large enough to hold twenty comfortably. "Mr. Grimes, I present to you the most advanced hot tub of all time. Sir, this tub has over 200 individually programmable water jets, computer controlled, voice activated, flow modulated, temperature regulated. All of the jets nozzles are recessed and when they're not in action you hardly know they're there, especially sir, if some other jet is distracting you with its gentle soothing ministrations." "Mr. Grimes, I insist you and your companion try it. I will of course leave you to yourselves, although you won't be able to fully experience the programmability, I will leave you with a list of code words that activate some of our set ups. I tell you Mr. Grimes, I have the hardest time keeping the staff out of that tub. Why, you can have at least eight women in there, all at once, all of them with their vaginas, rectums and both breasts being stimulated by separate water jets as they sit in comfort. It might take awhile to set up, but trust the girls and me, it was worth every second. And because of the variability of the jet flows, you can program it to caress your penis as gently as that sweet young thing, and do so for as long as you wish. I assure you sir, this is not just a hot tub, this is the greatest gift to relaxation ever created." "Antoinette, we will not try it unless you consent to get in with us. What kind of a saleswoman leaves without demonstrating all that the product is capable of?" "A good point indeed, Mr. Grimes." A short time later, the three of them were in the tub. Antoinette had positioned Carol in a sweet spot so she was receiving full stimulation from four jets at once. "Oh God… sir… she's going… to love… this." She had also put Harry where a highly aerated jet of water was gently massaging the underside of his cock. She sat next to him, a little too close for Harry's comfort. But, having become more open-minded and tolerant in the past several days, he put his head back and relaxed. He wondered at the psychology behind a woman making herself into a Barbie doll nightmare. She reminded him of someone, some comic strip character, ah, he remembered, 'Little Annie Fanny' from 'Playboy'. It was really kind of sad. "So Mr. Grimes, what do you think?" A hand grasped his cock and started to sinuously jerk him off. "I think that feels… interesting." He cut his eyes over to Carol quickly. She was watching out of the corner of her eye and shook her head slightly. "Sometimes Mr. Grimes you have to create a personal connection with a client to close a deal, don't you think?" "Indeed, sometimes you do." She got up from her seat and came around in front of him. "So Mr. Grimes, how personal a connection would you like to forge?" "Antoinette, you're a lovely, exotic and almost irresistible woman but I must remain true to my partner-" "Surely you don't mean her," Antoinette said, looking at Carol. "-no, not my pet, my partner. She, alas, could not be with us this evening. But I certainly have no problems with forging as firm a connection with you as you've begun to forge with me." Antoinette returned to where she'd been sitting in the tub, hand still caressing his cock. "Why no, Mr. Grimes, that won't be necessary. You're faithful to your partner? How perfectly enchanting! I hope she realizes what a lucky woman she is." "You flatter me. I know better. I know that the luck is all mine." He sat back as she continued to fondle him. He wondered if even in Madame Cornelius' wide sexual spectrum there was someone who could love what this woman had turned herself into. Not lust after her, he was sure there were fetishists and freaks aplenty who wanted to use her, but would any of them look past her erotic grotesquerie? He hoped so. He got the feeling she was a very lonely person. Between the water jet and Antoinette's skills, he was on the edge of orgasm. He turned to look at her. "I… wouldn't want… to make… a mess." "Don't worry Mr. Grimes, hardly the first, won't be the last." His head sank back and as he relaxed he felt his tension release and his spasms began as a set of lips wrapped themselves around the tip of his cock and he didn't care that Antoinette was stepping over the line because it felt so good and then he was finishing and the warm mouth was sucking out every last drop and letting loose his dick. He opened his eyes to see Carol surface from his lap. She smiled. "No need to make a mess if we could avoid one." He hugged her to him and in a burst of affection hugged Antoinette's arm as well since he was reasonably sure he couldn't get his arms around her chest. "Alright Antoinette, you've helped me spend a lot of money today. Let's go talk about options on the bidet." Oil of Roses Ch. 07 * * * * * Later, as they were driving away, Harry was finishing up calls rescheduling their meetings with the architects and contractors. He closed his cell phone. "Are all the small business owners in the 'underground' as odd as the two I've met so far?" "Oh no Harry, some are truly bizarre. We'll go clothes shopping one night and let you meet Mr. Antiquity. He's odd, damned odd. Madame C is normal in comparison and Antoinette is merely eccentric. He's a freak" "And when I asked about things I should be warned about, why didn't you think to mention that she'd turned herself into a parody of a love doll?" "Sir, do you want to take away all my fun?" Oil of Roses Ch. 08 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * Eddy Janak woke up in his recliner, the taste of beer and bile coating his tongue and throat like paste. On the television Jay Leno was making a joke about the President and the debacle in Iraq. Eddy wondered how many laughs Jay would get if an Iraqi suicide bomber blew him straight to hell. Eddy knew he'd laugh his ass off but he was strange that way. Be even funnier if Rumsfeld was with Leno when it happened. He had to be at work at midnight for a special test of Digital Data Packaging, Inc.'s on-site security systems. He figured after he and the boys fucked them in the ass and left them crying like the littlest baboon, he'd have landed another contract worth a quarter mil for the big boys upstairs and they'd lay a bonus on him. And he could go find a woman to fuck him over and take it with her when she left. Whoopee-fucking-doo. * * * * * Benjamin Sapperstein walked in the front door of his home. He was finally back from Vegas and he was regretting it already. If he hadn't had a consult with a very wealthy patient at the request of her very well-connected personal physician, he'd still be hip deep in pussy. Now it was home to the wounded looks and the cold bed. He was puzzled though. When he'd called to tell her he'd be coming home, she'd answered her phone, seemed happy to hear from him, said she'd missed him. That wasn't like her. That wasn't like her at all. As he made his way past her bedroom, he heard noises, noises like he'd been hearing for the past two weeks from the women he'd fucked. Sounds of passion, sounds of orgasm, sounds he hadn't heard Margo make in almost 2 years. Opening the door a crack, he saw her. His mind cataloged the things wrong with the picture; she was wearing a corset that left her tits bare – Margo wouldn't be caught dead wearing something like that, she was watching a porno film of two women furiously tonguing each other's cunts – Margo would never watch a film like that, there was a dildo sticking out of her ass – Margo wouldn't even let him put a finger near her butt, she was straddling some sort of vibrating machine – Margo didn't even own a vibrator. There was no way that was his wife. But as he walked into the room and circled her, bringing her face into view, he saw that it was her. It was Margo. "H-h-honey, is that you?" "Oh Benjamin, you're home!" She raised herself up off the machine and he turned a little pale when he saw the size of what she'd been riding. As she turned to face him, he was struck by the change in her. She looked like the woman he'd married. She looked better than the woman he'd married. He could say that she looked like a woman he could be faithful to but he'd be joking... but it would be a lot more fun pretending he was faithful to her. "Margo, what's come over you?" "Oh Benjamin, I had the most marvelous time when you were gone. I was taken by a lover, well, actually, I was seduced by two lovers, a beautiful man and the most luscious little sex kitten you'd ever beg to fuck and we had ever so much fun together and he took me from in front while she took me from behind with a strap-on and I loved every wonderfully nasty perverted thing we did together." Benjamin's cock was like iron and he wanted Margo like he hadn't wanted her in a long time. This was a side of his wife he'd never dreamed existed and the smell of her was about to drive him to his knees. She moved like a serpent to him and caressed his face with her hands and then her arms as she clasped him to her bare breasts. "And you know what Benjamin? Do you know what I realized?" "That you really do love me?" "No, not that, you silly piece of shit. I realized that I don't want to be married to you and I won't be married to you for too much longer. I realized that I hate the cosmetic surgery clinic and I've resigned already. I realized that no matter what you did or said there was no way I could ever forgive you for the hell you've put me through, so as my revenge, I decided to let you see what you'll never have." "I'll be fully moved out in the morning. Get out of my room you disgusting little fucktard." Benjamin staggered back. He couldn't believe what was happening. He reached out and grabbed at her shoulder. "You can't do this to me!" He was on his ass, the side of his face on fire, before he knew what had happened. "Yes I can, and yes I have. The papers are on your bedside table. Sign them." The door to her room slamming behind him was the last he would see of Margo Wohler. * * * * * After a day of meetings, some for G&P, some with Carol, the architect and the contractors for their home remodeling, Harry arrived at the house that night feeling very tired. Provided the contractors could put on an extra crew, the next 8 weeks should see the master bath undergo a major expansion from 'barely adequate' to 'sybaritic hedonistic Xanadu-style luxury palace', the hot tub installed, a new twelve foot fence installed and a pool put in the back, costing them not a single tree. When they collapsed on the floor in the living room, Harry felt his phone going off. "Hello? Speaking... uh huh... yes there will be... oh really? She did? Yes, yes there will be. The house number is 555-2753. Around eleven, yes. Thank you." "Who was that, sir?" "Someone from Ultraking. They're delivering a bed here tomorrow. Seems a certain Margo Wohler feels our bed is too small, so she bought us a new one... same firmness as the one we have, just a little larger." "How much larger?" "Well, our king size is six feet wide by seven feet long. The 'Extreme Ultra King' they're delivering is twelve feet wide by ten feet long." "My God Harry, that's huge!" "Yes it is. No rest for the weary, we need to clear a path for them tonight so they can remove the old one and get the new one in and set up." "But Harry, you're wiped. I'll do it." "No Baby Girl, we'll both do it. Then we'll eat, grab a shower and make an early night of it." "Sounds good to me." * * * * * Harry was having a most beautiful dream. He was lying in bed and Carol was making love with Kelly. In the dim light of the room he could see the two of them caressing each other, Carol on top of the beautiful black girl, their skin tones of dark brown and light brown complimenting each other, Carol aggressively moving on her, taking her, making Kelly her own with no resistance from Kelly whatsoever. As Carol licked and sucked at Kelly's tits, Kelly arched her back, "Oh Merlin that feels so good. You really are a magician." She pushed Carol's head down towards her cunt. "But beware, the valiant Kay has enchantments of her own." Carol began to lick and nibble between her legs, finally fastening her mouth around Kelly's clit, wrapping her arms around her thighs and the wet sucking noises filled the room and Kelly's soft moans became more rapid as she flexed her hips, humping Carol's face and her moans took form and became "fuckme, fuckme, fuckme". Carol crawled up and Harry saw that she had her harness on, strap-on at the ready, no small shaft for virgin ass play but a realistically sized dildo, and she sank it in Kelly's pussy, into a moist sound of welcome, and Kelly's hands came up to brace her against the headboard of the bed and she pushed back as Carol fucked her hard, her every exhale a cry of "oh Merlin!" and then she was up and changing positions and was on her knees, hands on the headboard and the whole bed was shaking as she rammed herself back onto Carol's cock as Carol slammed forward and her cries were almost cries of pain but still cries of passion as she wanted more. Her beautiful breasts were hanging down, nipples painfully erect and Harry wished it weren't a dream as they looked tasty and he would go suck on them if it weren't a dream but it was. The tempo increased and the rocking of the bed and Kelly's cries came faster and then she fell to the bed and Carol was hammering her and Kelly was waving her hands and Carol slowed and stopped. The scene changed and Carol was riding Kelly's face, braced against the wall as she ground her now harnessless pussy into Kelly's eager mouth. Kelly's hands were caressing all of Carol's generous curves and Carol was shuddering as her orgasm shook her like a rag doll in the teeth of some great and terrible beast. Then Harry was kissing Carol and he could taste Kelly's sweetness on her face. She was curled up next to him and saying something but he wasn't listening because while she was talking to him and kissing him she was sucking his cock like she'd never sucked it before... not better, just different... and he whispered "I love you so much, Beloved, and that feels so nice" and she said "I love you too" and "Thank you, Arthur" at the same time in two different voices and Carol was putting her tit to his mouth and he was biting on it faintly, licking her silken skin and for a moment he dreamed that there were two women in bed with him and that it was Margo there but she wasn't because he couldn't feel her and Carol kept kissing the top of his head and sucking his cock and her tit tasted so good to him and he was going to come any moment and the tension was making his thighs quiver and Carol could tell because she held his head to her breast more tightly and took him all the way down her throat and back up again, lashing the bottom of the head of his cock with her tongue and that was all she wrote he was coming and he could tell she wasn't swallowing and that wasn't like Carol so he just sucked her tit all the harder and she held him all the tighter and when he finally stopped he felt her let his dick plop out of her mouth and there was a wet sound and something hit the floor with a soft fabric-like sounds and Carol was holding him on the left and crawling up next to him on the right. She was kissing him on the side of his head and nuzzling his ear when she kissed him on the mouth, the taste of him on her lips and inside her mouth as they kissed each other and it was strange, she tasted different but he was too happy with the dream to wonder about it much. "Goodnight, beautiful Merlin. My liege Arthur, your servant the Lady Kay bids you rest well." And then Carol was gone and Carol curled up next to him and the dream ended. * * * * * As the alarm beeped he rolled over and slapped it off. Turning back he saw Carol gazing at him sleepily, a look of satisfaction on her face. "Morning my Precious, I had the most pleasant dream last night." "It wasn't a dream, Harry." "It wasn't? Kelly was here?" She shimmied with pleasure. "She most certainly was. She got off work and stopped by to see if anything was happening. I thought I heard someone at the door and went to check. She was ready to crawl into bed and wake you up to Lady Kay's cunt in your face, but I convinced her that Arthur needed his sleep. She was pouting most enchantingly so we compromised and fucked on the bed. If you woke up enough to join in, fine and good, if you didn't, she'd blow you before she left. You didn't wake up, at least, not all the way." "Sir, are you upset with me for entertaining her? For fucking her here, possibly waking you up? Are you upset with me for not waking you up to play with us?" "Precious angel, you may entertain that delightful morsel of feminine delight any time you wish and if I hadn't been so tired I would have gleefully joined in, so no blame for doing her here. It's your bed as well... she's welcome in it if you bring her to it. No, I'm not upset about you letting me sleep. If I didn't wake up with the two of you making love over there, two feet away, I needed the rest." "On the other hand, I missed out on a chance to make love to you and, Lady Kay was it? What is it with this girl and her Arthurian fixation? Anyway, having missed out on that, I feel the need to make up for part of it. Bathroom for both of us and I'll meet you back here." "Won't you be late for work?" "I'm one of the bosses, remember?" A few minutes later they were back in bed. "So my sweet, other than make love to you, which is already undeniably on the schedule, is there anything I can do to please you this morning?" "Yes," she said, the tears breaking her voice surprising Harry, "hold me, look me in the eyes, tell me you love me, that I'm yours and tell me that Margo's coming back." With that she began to cry silently and Harry gathered her to himself and stroked her hair as he remembered his joy the night before when he briefly thought their love had returned. He wondered how with all the joys that filled his days, with all the blessings that flowed through his life, her absence could leave such a hole, such an aching. It was a rhetorical question as he knew the answer as surely as he knew of the bond he and Carol shared. She was not where she was meant to be and that was the cause of the pain. He took her head in his hands and brought her lips to his mouth, kissed her tenderly. "I love you and I will go on loving you while there is breath in my body. You are mine and you will be mine until the day you decide differently. No power but an act of God will prevent Margo from returning to us and surely God is not that cruel." Carol kissed him fiercely and rolled him over, climbing atop him and lowering herself on to his cock. Although he shouldn't have been, he was surprised at how ready she was for him as he slid into her wetness. She placed her hands upon his shoulders and began to move forwards and back upon him, her muscles playing up and down the length of his shaft as she did. Harry thought again of miracles and of the woman before him, the first and greatest miracle of them all. Her pale cinnamon skin, warm and earthy even un-tanned, invited his hands to caress the curves and slopes of her; he cupped her breasts in his hands, her firm mounds just slightly over-filling them, as his palms glided across her nipples they tightened further, their slightly darker shade calling his eyes as his hands returned to her hips. Briefly a vision of the slender, angular Angie filled his mind and he shivered with hate, not just for the hideous soul within but for the fashionably anorexic frame without as well. He felt his erection deflate even under the seductive ministrations of her talented cunt, and he quickly focused on more pleasant prospects. Neither she nor their beloved Margo were physically ideal but the spirits within transformed them as surely as a muddled mass of colored silicon became the glory of a stained glass window when illuminated by the sun. They both were pretty to start with and were made beautiful by the loving souls inside them. For him to gaze up at her, riding him, her face bathed in joy, was for him to believe that there must be a God as such a divine creature could not spring purely from chance and evolution, but must be inspired by a higher aesthetic. Harry stared into her brown eyes and lost himself. He could not imagine a day without seeing her. He could not imagine a day without loving her. Their eyes on each other she quickened her pace, leaning forward to rub her clit against him. Her eyes widened as the sensations took her over the edge and she prostrated herself on him and clawed at his shoulders, her face flushing as she panted for breath as if in labor. Harry began to thrust his hips, rising into her and his own orgasm came shortly after, tears flowing from his eyes as he lost himself in the power of his body's release and his love for her. As they lay, her atop him, recovering from their exertions, Harry stoked her hair and wondered if he could get away with skipping work that day... no, he had a meeting about the De Freitas account, worth a lot to the firm. "My beloved, I may be one of the bosses, but I've got to get there soon. Let me up so I can hit the shower." * * * * * When Harry showed up late at the office, freshly showered and undeniably freshly fucked, he had gone from office to office, cubicle to cubicle begging someone to pretend to be him and make his excuses to Karen. It was an old and familiar game and Karen's heart soared to see it. He'd been back for two days and the change was perceptible in every facet of their operation, in every employee they had. Karen had come to terms with the nature of their relationship in the very first year they were in business. She had the smarts and the education, probably 65-70% of every campaign was hers. But he had the spark. Most of the time, there was no idea, no concept for her to work on until he'd brought it to life. She could manage an office, organize a staff, plan a project, manage it, but Harry inspired it, lifted it, fueled it and drove it. He was the front man, the idea man, the jester, the piper and the fool. She hadn't realized how much she missed him, how much the entire company had missed him, until he was back. The De Freitas meeting was at 2, they should be done by 3:30. Then she was going to leave and go home, set up the condo for a romantic dinner for two, have the dinner catered, eat and then make love to Patricia, who had come back to give her a second chance. She wasn't going to blow it this time, no matter what. * * * * * Eddy rolled over in bed and saw a shape under the sheets next to him. From the taste in his mouth he knew he'd gotten drunk enough to fuck a water buffalo and he was duly thankful he didn't know where the zoo was. Still, he was frightened to pull down the sheet and look. He did so anyway. Well, she was far from being the worst thing he'd ever woken up next to. Still kind of attractive in an old motorcycle mama, rode-hard-and-put-away-wet-far-too-many-times kind of way and she wasn't missing too many teeth. Eddy shook his head. His life sucked. He got up, his eyes shut against even the faint glimmers of light seeping around the cheap curtains. He stumbled into the bathroom and pissed. God, he was thankful he could do that in the dark. Then he noticed the woman had hung her clothes up all over his bathroom, he could feel them all around him. He opened his eyes and realized he wasn't in his apartment; he was in hers and had just peed in her closet. He backed out of the closet and quietly gathered up his things, stopping only to put on his pants before he tried to find the front door. One too many mornings of a bunch of kids he'd never seen before and would never see again staring at his naked body had taught him 'pants first always'. His conscience got the better of him. He was amazed he still had one. He found the bathroom, grabbed some dirty towels from the floor, mopped up what piss he could find in the dark and dumped the towels in her little washer, put in soap and started it running. He sat down at the kitchen table and wrote her a note. Oil of Roses Ch. 08 "I'm sorry, I have to go. I woke up, thought I was home and took a piss in your closet, thinking it was my bathroom in the dark. I think I cleaned up most of it, but here's some money for any damages. The towels I used to clean are in the washer." He left the note and $200 on the table. He found the door with little trouble and no encounters with rug rats. Sitting on the steps down from the second floor he put on his sunglasses, boots and shirt and checked his wallet. He still had a large portion of the money he'd started the night with; he hadn't blown more than $700, $800 the night before and another $200 before he even got out her door. The day was starting out just goat-humpin' dandy. Then he began the always entertaining game of 'where-the-fuck-did-he-leave-the-truck'. Luckily for him it wasn't too far away and it didn't look like he'd hit anyone or anything the night before. God was still looking out for fools, drunks and the patron saint of both, Eddy Janak. * * * * * When Harry got home that night, he walked into the bedroom to find Carol sitting in the middle of the largest bed he'd ever seen. "Harry, I'm going to kill her or I'm going to kiss her, I'm not sure which. I saw the invoice. With all the sheets, comforters, pillows and pillow cases, Harry, I'm sitting on a $30,000 bed." Harry let loose with a long low whistle. "That's not all Harry. The bed frame, head and foot boards are custom. The invoice for them didn't have a price." "What do you mean, custom?" "Harry, this is a six poster bed. The posters have multiple points for attaching rings and since the whole thing is steel, bolted or welded together, then polished, Harry, any two of the posts can support up to 1,000 pounds. I figure the frame alone cost her as much as the bed and that's only a guess and may not involve any extra cost for very fast custom work. The deliverymen and I had to go make sure this house was on a concrete slab, we were afraid the floor might not support the bed frame. There are people in town right now who would pay you $75,000 for this bed right now, write you a check and not insist on taking delivery until it cleared and you were satisfied. Harry, I masturbated three times this afternoon just thinking about what can be done with this bed." "She bought enough sheets and pillow cases to last us for quite some time; I've had to rearrange the linen closet considerably. I'm gonna kill her or I'm going to kiss her, I don't know which." "Well, make up your mind soon. Personally, I'd prefer it if you kissed me but I'm funny that way." "MARGO!" the two of them cried as they turned to see her standing in the door. The next few moments were a joyful reunion as all three of them ended up sprawled on the floor. "Damn, I buy us a bed, I show up to help break it in and you tackle me on to the floor? I don't get no respect." "Sir, Margo, I respectfully suggest we reconvene this meeting on Margo's Wonder Bed.""So beloved, I gather you're planning on staying for about a week and a half, two weeks?" "No, just tonight, I'll be gone in the morning again." "Then you'll be leaving with the job you came for unfinished. It'll take at least that long to break in all this bed." Margo laughed. "Good point. How about I came home to help christen it? Is that better?" "Well, it lets you off the hook, so it's not better, but I imagine it suits your purpose," Harry said, smiling to take the sting from his words. "Margo, thank you for the bed, it's glorious," Carol said, wrapped around Margo on the left, "but my God, you spent so much!" "Don't worry, I didn't spend a dime." "Then how-" "Let me tell you a bedtime story... Once upon a time, there was a greedy little prick named Benjamin and he was married to a rampaging bitch named Evelyn. Well, Benjamin wanted something very, very badly and he got it for himself, but the mean old Evelyn couldn't know about it or she'd make him sell it. So he hid it and lied to her about where the money he'd bought it with went. And when they divorced, he kept it hidden because he knew if she ever found out he had it, she'd smell a rat and since he was a rat that would lead her straight to him. He kept it hidden until he met the lovely Princess Margo-" "I like her, she's beeyoootiful," said Carol. "-and became engaged to her and then he gave his treasure to Princess Margo to keep for him and put it in Princess Margo's name so the evil Evelyn would never know it was his. Well, when he was drawing up his pre-nuptials, he couldn't very well mention his special treasure in there because someday his marriage to Princess Margo might end in divorce and the treasure could be exposed in the public record, so he didn't say a word about it, expecting Princess Margo to be stupid and forget all about the treasure he'd hidden with her." "But she didn't, did she?" Carol asked. "No, no she didn't. So when Benjamin was revealed for the slimy little toad he was and Princess Margo decided to go and live with her two most perfect loves in their cabin deep in Enchanted Urbia-" "Yay, Enchanted Urbia!" said Carol. "-she put his Lipstick Red 1996 Lamborghini Diablo Roadster up for sale in the magical auction house of E-bay and put a quick sale price on it of only $100,000, when it was really worth at least $30,000 more and do you know what happened, children?" "What?" Harry and Carol said together. "It sold almost immediately and she used the money to buy her and her loves a new and wonderful bed for their cabin in Enchanted Urbia." Carol leaned up and whispered huskily in Margo's ear, "That was a good bedtime story, Mommy, now come to bed." "Yeah," said Harry from the other side, "bedtime for Mommy and Daddy and Baby Girl." Margo lay back and let herself be undressed by the two people she loved and trusted most in the world. The two of them slid her towards the center of the bed and took turns kissing her as the other undressed themselves. Then they lay down and in mirror fashion sucked her breasts and stroked the insides of her thighs, matching each others movements not exactly, but closely enough to give Margo a most unusual sensation of being loved by something with two mouths and four arms and four hands. She closed her eyes and for the first time since leaving Monday morning she felt safe. She knew that until she was ready to come back to stay she could never let them know how torturous it had been for her away from them. How all the old fears and doubts had come roaring back and she had sat on the floor of her new and empty apartment and rocked herself, keeping herself from calling second by second because if she called she knew her wonderful Knight in Shining Armor and his Beloved Pet would ride to her rescue and bring her back here and she'd give in to her fear and never find the strength to leave again and that would be wonderful but she needed to rescue herself and she needed to erase the big red 'V' off her forehead and stop letting her past make her a victim. She knew that once she could face her demons down, still afraid but in control of her fear, she could come home and tell her loved ones all about her struggle and they would understand and love her and she would know she came here not out of fear but freely, not a victim seeking shelter but a woman seeking home. She prayed that day came soon. For now though she returned her thoughts to the attentions of her lovers and the delightfully sinful and wicked things they were doing to her body, their hands alternating caressing her wet and welcoming slit, their other hands playing in her hair, their mouths nursing at her breasts hungrily, feeding on her love for them, her desire for them, stoking the fires within her even higher. "Daddy... Baby Girl... somebody needs... to fuck Mommy... soon." Harry moved down and parted her legs, hoisting her up in the air to slide a few pillows beneath, and then he entered her. "What Mommy wants, Mommy gets," he said, sliding in and out of her. "Now... little Carol..." she said, coaxing her up, "give Mommy something good to lick on and tell me all that's been going on with you since I left." In a flash Carol was sitting on her face. Margo sank her tongue into Carol's pussy and began to lick as Carol told her about Kelly's late night visit in vivid detail. Harry continued to make love to the other major miracle in his life, holding her feet at his face, licking and sucking on her toes as he settled into a nice steady rhythm. Margo found herself skating on the edge of her orgasm; Harry thrusting in and out of her and kissing her feet, Carol and her delightful taste, hearing of Carol's passionate night with Kelly, it could only take her so far, she just needed a little more to go over the top and then Carol reached back and caressed her breasts and nipples and Margo was coming and Harry increased his speed and as Margo was shuddering towards the end of hers he began coming and he reached forward and pulled Carol back to him and clamped his lips on her neck and she was coming, writhing on Margo's face and it was so good to be home and she wished she never had to leave. * * * * * The three lovers lay in a pile of arms and legs and bodies and everyone was smiling and everyone was at peace. They shifted until no one was lying on top of anyone else and then cuddled together while Harry and Carol told Margo of the new bathroom and the hot tub and the fence and the pool. "My God," Margo said, soaking in their love, "it sounds like between the backyard, the bathroom and this bed, we'll be living in Decadence Central." "Yeah, won't it be great?" giggled Carol. Harry said, "Bathroom, Bed, Backyard & Bong... sounds like a law firm or a party waiting to happen". "Well my loves, it's been unbelievably sweet to see you again, but I've got to get going," said Margo, getting up from the bed. No one said a word as she dressed. They walked her to the front porch. The three of them hugged and held the hug a long time. Carol said, "Margo, our love goes with you and will be with you no matter what. If you ever need it, just be still for a moment and feel it. It'll be there, I promise you." Harry took her hand. "Love, I worry about you. I have Carol to keep me sane and vice versa, who do you have?" Tears flowed freely down Margo's face. "I have the two of you and your love. Don't worry, if it gets too bad, I'll be back here in a flash." They stood on the porch and watched her drive away. It wasn't any easier than waking up to find her gone but at least they'd gotten to say their farewells. * * * * * Harry was curled up in his mother's lap, wrapped in a blanket, nursing at her breast, sweet milk flowing down his throat and his tiny body was encircled by her arms and though he could hear the storm raging outside he was warm and safe and dry, as the lightning crashed to the earth and lit up the world and thunder rolled through the heavens he shivered but Mama's arms just held him tighter and he sucked harder and it was alright, the storm couldn't get him in here but then the thunder spoke again and it sounded like words and he listened, trying to make out what it was saying and as he listened the peals of thunder repeated themselves and the message was getting clearer and the thunder started to sound like shouting, the shouting of someone he knew and it was Angie and the thunder said "I'm not through with you yet" and the parts of him, deep inside, that she'd gotten to before she got to again and he gazed up at his Mama's face and it was Angie and the breast he nursed at was leprous and blackened and he saw in the veins standing out on it green poison flowing toward the nipple and the taste was like bile and he tore away from it but it was too late. The dark green flowed to his heart and he saw it inside him, through his skin and it pulsed and throbbed like a thing alive and as it reached his heart and flowed through it his heart turned to stone and crumbled to dust and all of him was turning to stone and he looked out of the prison of his own eyes and there was his beloved Carol beating on his rock hard flesh, trying to reach him but she couldn't break through and she couldn't hear him and so she walked away from him. His eyes flew open. "What did I ever do to Angie to piss her off so badly?" he murmured under his breath. "Nothing," said Carol. He turned his head and saw her looking at him as she sat cross-legged on the bed. "What are you doing, sitting there?" he asked. "Waiting to see if I was going to have to bring you out of that nightmare or if you were going to bring yourself out. Harry my most excellent love; do you believe there are good people in the world?" "Yes, yes I do. I know two of them. I love two of them. I'm in love with two of them." "Thank you, I'd agree about Margo at least." She stuck her tongue out at him and smiled. "Then please believe there are evil people in the world. Did Angie have money, a successful career, when you two met?" "No, she was just starting out at an investment firm, DeWitt & Associates. My and Karen's agency was finally taking off. That's why she and I lived here for awhile before buying in Crockett Heights. There was no way we could've afforded a square foot of Crockett Heights until we'd plowed enough profit back into G & P to enable it to handle the extra business and could start actually seeing the extra money." "So, she came in with very little." Carol paused, apparently lost in thought. "Does she have much more now, as far as her job is concerned?" "Yeah, she was getting promoted pretty quickly, but still she's probably only making a quarter what I am." "So she came in with very little and she's going to leave with half of everything." "Yeah, Texas being a community property state." She paused again. "Were you going to let her have the house?" "Yeah, I've got no use for it." She sat, looking at him, wondering if she really wanted to take it any further. "You see what I'm getting at, sir?" Behind Harry's eyes there was a dawning realization, equations being solved, solutions being reached, that he hadn't wanted to look at before. And with every total tallied, another happy memory from his life with Angie was burned to ash. Behind his eyes was a spreading wasteland, more than three years turning into one giant lie. Carol was already in motion when Harry asked, "Do you think she ever really loved me?" in a cracked and breaking voice and then she was there and she was holding him close to her. "Harry, Harry, I don't know, maybe she did, maybe she didn't, it doesn't matter now, it doesn't matter whether she did or didn't, you're done with her, she's gone, you can file for divorce tomorrow if you want, get her out of your life completely, you've got me and you've got Margo, I know it hurts my love, but you're safe, she's gone." "I think she's coming back, I'm not sure why. I'm afraid she'll come back." "Why are you afraid of her, Harry, she can't hurt you?" "I'm not afraid of what she'd do to me. I'm afraid she might hurt you." "And I'll beat the shit out of her, Harry; I'll pound her into the floor and sop her up with a sponge." "No. Baby Girl, you are not to touch one hair on her head until I give you permission. But I promise you, if she shows up here, at some point you'll get that permission." * * * * * The following night they went out to do a little specialty shopping. In a section of warehouses by the shallow and odorous river that ran through the heart of the city, they pulled up to the gate of an apparently abandoned warehouse complex surrounded by auto graveyards. In the shadows of the piles of rusting metal they saw a gatehouse. A guard stepped out. "Mr. Grimes and pet to see Mr. Antiquity." "Yes sir, you're expected." The guard went back into his gatehouse and the gate slid open silently. "Mr. Antiquity," Harry sighed. "Why are we here to see him again?" "Harry, he's a freak and an eccentric, but he's also the finest maker of fetish clothing in the Southwest. And, as such artists go, he has quite a few eccentricities, the main one being his name." "What are some of his others?" Harry asked as they cruised into the parking area. "Well, the other one you really shouldn't take notice of is that he speaks with the most outrageously atrocious Texas accent you'll ever hear. I'm not sure where the fuck he's from originally, but it's nowhere near here. He believes in keeping it very, very cold and very, very dry in his home." "His home? I thought we were going to his shop?" "They're one and the same." They were escorted into a warehouse by two gigantic bald men wearing leather aprons and nothing else. Harry leaned down and whispered "Alright, I've been moderately uncomfortable at some of the places we've shopped... here I'm somewhere beyond real uncomfortable." Carol threw her arms around his neck and as she nuzzled his ear she murmured "You're not homophobic, are you Harry?" "Baby Girl," he whispered in return, "it's not that I'm homophobic, it's that I don't want to be chopped up and dumped through a trap door into the city sewage system." "Don't worry, you're safe. You're far more likely to be propositioned than chopped up sir." "Imagine my relief." They went inside out of the sultry Texas night air into the chill of industrial-strength air conditioners, all working overtime. "Excuse the temperature y'all" came a voice from behind a rack of vinyl dresses, "but even a native Texan like me cain't stand this heat." Harry realized Carol had understated how bad his accent was by several orders of magnitude. He sounded as if he had perhaps started out in India and then come to Texas by way of France and Scotland. "Believe me, Mr. Antiquity, I too was born and raised here and I understand completely." Harry was fighting to keep his teeth from chattering. "I don't think I've ever been in a more comfortable environment." "Ah, a pardner after my own heart." Around the rack of dresses came a small and wizened man, dressed in a yellow and brown latex cowboy outfit. Minus the pants, but with the chaps and boots. "Mr. Grimes, y'all're right on time, always good to deal with prompt hombres." He stuck out his hand to shake and as Harry shook hands with him, he reflected that shaking hands with a man while trying hard to look anywhere but his shriveled penis was not something he expected to have to do that day when he'd gotten out of bed. "Mr. Antiquity, it is indeed a pleasure to meet you. I'm here because I shamelessly spoil this little girl and I'd like to turn her loose in your stock, see what she can find." "You go right on ahead and do that, buckaroo. And little missy, remember, if you find something you like, but we don't have it in your size, you come tell Uncle Antiquity and he'll make it up special." Carol leaned up and pecked him on the cheek. "Thank you so much, Uncle." She ran off into the cavernous space, disappearing rapidly behind the racks. * * * * * Harry wandered through a frigid wonderland of some of the most interesting fashions he'd ever seen, as well as the most interesting displays he'd ever seen. For starters, there was never just one mannequin, there were always three of each sex; the item on a very thin mannequin, an average sized one and a large one. And scenes had been created for the mannequins, and there would be three full scenes, one each for the different sizes. There were bondage scenes and torture scenes and there was wonderful cul-de-sac in one corner that was a fetish ball with over 30 mannequins for each of the three matching displays. Harry was enjoying a display of corsets when he heard Carol calling him from somewhere deep in the store. Oil of Roses Ch. 08 He felt as though he were in some garden labyrinth, twisting and turning, following the sound of her voice, discovering more displays, once disturbing a pair of severe looking men with blond buzz-cuts locked in a sixty-nine on the floor. Eventually he tracked her down. "My God Carol, is there any organization to this place?" "Yes Harry, but you have to get used to it and it would take a long time to explain. I've found some things you'll just be dying to get me out of. When you're tired of looking around why don't you go wait in Uncle's office, just follow the singing. I'll be over there soon with some sexy little numbers to model for you." Harry followed the sound of Roy Rogers singing to a bizarre sight, even in a place full of them. Towards the middle of the warehouse, surrounded by racks of vinyl, latex and leather clothing was an area of elevated rough wooden flooring on top of which was a living room and kitchen, free-standing, all done in leather, wood, wagon wheels and steer horns. "Mr. Grimes, so glad you could find me. I wouldn't want you to get lost out there in the desert of clothes." "Oh, no danger of that Mr. Antiquity, you had the melodious strains of Roy Rogers acting as a beacon for me." "You like Roy? I am his biggest fan. Would you like some coffee?" Harry thought to himself that he'd like to burn this little shrine to Western living to get warm. "Some coffee would be great, thanks pardner." * * * * * Two hours later they were pulling out of the main gate. Neither Carol or Harry were much into true fetish garb, but she had managed to talk him into getting measured for a pair of leather pants and she had found herself quite a few dresses that, as she modeled them, almost caused Harry's cock to explode. "Baby Girl, I'm not sure I'll get over that visit any time soon, but you almost got shucked, sucked and fucked right there in front of Mr. Antiquity and the Human Mountains." She giggled with the delightful sound of water burbling over stones. "You should've gone ahead and done me, Harry, they wouldn't have minded; it wouldn't have been the first time it's happened and they would have been far busier checking you out than even looking at me." "Imagine my happiness. Be thinking about what you want to wear, we're going out tomorrow night and you're going to meet Eddy." Carol's squeal of joy could be heard miles away. Oil of Roses Ch. 09 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. Oil of Roses Ch. 09 Through this asphalt oven walked Harry, muttering his new mantra. "Next time we take a motherfucking cab, next time we take a motherfucking cab..." He finally reached "John Lee's" and once he was inside, stopped immediately at the bar. "Excuse me, if I promised you my first-born child, could I get a tall glass of ice water, followed by a shot of Jack Daniels with a Shiner Bock back?" The bartender smiled. "I'll pass on the child, but all that and more can be yours for right exchange in coin of the realm." Harry slipped her a folded twenty and ten. "We'll be here for awhile, thanks for taking care of us." Then he pulled out another twenty for the drinks. "Keep the change." He grabbed the water, drained it in a single long drink, relishing the swallows of icy water gushing down his throat. Then he downed the shot, took his beer and went in search of Carol and Eddy. They weren't hard to find. "So here's Harry, pants around his knees, hobbling to the car after pressing his hams on Diana's bedroom window, her parents are coming to the door cause of her screamin' and since Patty's at the wheel and she's a malicious bitch, she starts drivin' off. Harry's runnin', pullin' up his pants, hollerin' for her to stop. He ends up divin' through the passenger window into the front seat of the car while Diana's daddy is in the front yard, yellin' that he's gonna call the police." Carol was head down on the table laughing and Eddy was laughing almost as hard. "I see you two have met," Harry said, smiling. "Have you told her the 'Oh My God! Harry!' story yet?" "No, haven't gotten to that one." Harry took a seat and Carol came to him and climbed in his lap as soon as he was situated. He could feel her bare cunt nestled against his cock through his pants. "Jimmy," she whispered in his ear, "Paulie's told me all about the 'Jimmy & Paulie Show featuring Rick Cox' and I kinda like the idea of bein' a mobster's girl. Maybe we could go to Chicago some weekend, see the sights, visit the old hangouts, dressed to the nines, do it 1920's style." She lifted herself on his shoulders and swung her leg around to straddle his lap. "Maybe you'd like me to polish your heater right here, Jimmy." She licked his lips. He could smell her desire. "Shine it up real pretty." Eddy watched, bemused. He had suspected earlier that Carol wasn't wearing any sort of underwear but her gymnastics maneuver on Harry's lap had confirmed it. She was an interesting girl. He liked her and it was evident that she was very good for Harry. Harry kissed her while he subtly ground his erection into her. She squirmed against him, breaking the kiss to bite his bottom lip gently and suck on it. He pulled back. "Now go sit down, behave yourself and we'll see what we can do about a trip to Chicago some day, you little reprobate." She sat back down on her stool and pouted at him but couldn't hold it for long as she broke out into a smile. "So," Harry said, "I can tell that Eddy's been filling your head with spurious stories of my youth, sullying my image as a paragon of virtue in my formative years." "Harry," Eddy said, "I'm not sure what half those words meant and I knew they were bullshit." "So Eddy, you said you had some news for me about an old friend. What gives?" Eddy looked at Carol, raised an eyebrow. "My dearest, I think Eddy's about to tell me something unpleasant. Do you wish to stay and listen or go torture some poor innocent soul with how incandescently hot you look in that outfit?" "I think I'll stay." "Alright. If you would, proceed Eddy." "Okay, but you was warned. Guess what upstanding member of society refused to let doctors keep him for observation and checked himself out of the hospital early?" "Rick Cox?" "You got it. So I got some friends on the force and I been keeping half an ear out for any news of Mr. Cox, in case 'Jimmy' and 'Paulie' needed to pay him a visit and guess who was found dead in his apartment last night?" "That same Rick Cox?" "Bingo. Preliminary report says the dumb shit let more than a few of those wounds he was left with get infected and kept himself so 'medicated' he didn't realize how sick he was. Fever got too high; he lay there and cooked him and his brain to death. Friend of mine said it stank so bad in there... well, never mind." Harry watched Carol's face carefully. After a moment of working it through, a light went on behind her eyes and she turned to Harry. "Sir, please don't think that it was your fault because it wasn't." He looked at her in wonder. "My God, I love you." And then he stood up and held her tightly. From his chest he heard her. "I love you too, Harry." Their waitress came by and Harry spread the love as he had with the bartender. "We're going to need a round of shots. It's toasting time. Better make that three rounds. Uh, Jack Daniels for me, same all around? Okay, same all around." "Oh Christ, here we go." Eddy leaned down and started speaking to Carol in a low voice, explaining traditions. After the rounds arrived, Harry lifted his first. "To friends present!" Carol and Eddy echoed the phrase and they all did their shot. He picked up his second. "To absent friends," and looked at Carol, "and absent loves!" They echoed the phrase and all did their shot. He picked up the third. "To Rick Cox!" And then he spit disdainfully into the shot. The toast and action was echoed and they all did their shots. "And now," said Carol, "we all switch to water for awhile." They sat and talked together for over an hour, drinking water and cups of bar coffee, which was surprisingly good, listening to the music from the back room. Harry picked up his coffee cup and held in the palm of his hand, studying it. "Alas poor Rick! I knew him, Edward: a fellow of infinite stupidity, of most repugnant sensibility: he hath beaten her upon her back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in her imagination he is! My gorge rims at it! Here hung those lips that did yell at her in anger? Where be your bravado now? Your threats? Your lies? Your flashes of rage that were wont to set her spirit a-quaking? No rage now, against your own fate?" "A good end for a sorry sack of shit," said Eddy. "Amen to that," agreed Carol. "Harry, not that the blues aren't doing it for me, they are, but can we find a place with booths, dark corner tables, something like that?" "You are an evil creature, a succubus from hell and I love you for it. Any place like that spring to mind, Eddy?" "Yeah, got a friend, Bizoumet, plays piano at a little bar way over on 38th and St. Paul, place called "The Chateau de Chantilly". It definitely fits the description. You let me call her; she'll make sure they have a corner booth cleared out for us by the time we can get there." "Call away." Harry cleared out their tab, apologized to both waitress and bartender that they hadn't stayed longer and ordered more, saying it both with words and currency and then called a cab. Oil of Roses Ch. 09 None of them heard the front door open and close. None of them heard the footsteps through the living room and into the bedroom. "Well, I never expected to see this," said Angie, standing in the bathroom door. They all heard that. Oil of Roses Ch. 10 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. Oil of Roses Ch. 10 "You fucking..." "I didn't ask you your opinion of me, Angie; frankly I don't give a shit. Yes or no, that's all I'm fucking interested in. Yes or no?" "Yes." "Yes what?" "Yes I agree to your terms and will abide by them." "Alright, get your clothes, get dressed, get the fuck out of my sight. I never want to see you again." "NO SIR!" He looked up to see Carol, shaking with rage, tears streaming down her face. "What?" "You promised me, sir. You promised her to me. You promised me permission. You promised meeeee..." she wailed. He looked at her. He saw the other side of her primal passion. He saw primal fury. He had promised her. "You have my permission." "Thank you, sir. You might want to leave. I don't think you want to see this." Harry, horrified by what he had seen inside himself, couldn't find it in his heart to begrudge Carol her vengeance. But he couldn't watch it. He shuffled to the shower as one dead. Oil of Roses Ch. 11 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * Harry washed his face, relishing the feel of warm water on his skin. He was so glad it was over now between him and Angie. Oh, he knew that even though the paperwork was filed, the divorce wouldn't be finalized for quite some time, but it was over, nevertheless. It was good that that was going well. In the week since that night, nothing else had. He walked out of the bathroom to see Carol finishing packing her little bag, the one she'd arrived with. She and Margo stood there looking at him sadly. "Ready to go so soon?" he asked. "Yeah Harry, I'm ready to go. Don't bother to call; I doubt there's anything you can say I'd want to hear." Margo and Carol left. He hoped at least one of them would come back but he really doubted it. As Margo's car went out of sight, he whispered "I love you". Kelly and Eddy had changed their phone numbers and he really couldn't blame them. Even Karen wasn't talking to him anymore after she heard what had gone down. He had no problem accepting it, no problem understanding it. What he had done to Angie was vile; no matter what she had done to him or anyone else, he had lowered himself past her level and now it was time to reap what he had sown. Harry went back to the bathroom and drew himself a bath. As he slid into the hot water he saw Carol's last present to him, proof she still cared. He took the straight razor, opened it and drew it down the insides of his arms. He was so glad it was all over now. * * * * * In his sleep Harry curled into a tight little ball, tucked himself into the fetal position, trying to protect himself from himself. * * * * * Harry woke up to a soaking wet bed, a thick coppery smell in the air. He turned his head to stare into Carol's glassy, dead eyes, her mouth below them frozen in the rictus of a scream. Someone had cut her open and his beloved had bled out allover the bed. He clambered out of the bed, his breath rapid and shallow. A sound from the living room drew his attention and he crawled towards the door, peering out into the room, trying to see what had caused the disturbance. He saw nothing so, crouching, he moved further out into the room. As he was busy looking around for someone he nudged something on the floor, almost fell over it. Looking down he saw it was Eddy, gutted like Carol. He fell forward, his knees coming to rest in Eddy's abdomen and he continued to fall, catching himself on his hands, his head inches above Kelly's corpse. "Harry…" He turned towards the voice and saw her shadow, dancing along the wall. He got to his feet. "What do you want?" "Time for a little lesson in the realities of hunting, Harry." The large knife tore through his skin like it was paper. He looked down, uncomprehendingly, as his entrails fell out on the floor with a splattering, plopping sound. Then there she was, her emaciated form covered in the blood of his friends, his family. She held the knife proudly, moving it back and forth, watching it glisten redly in the light. He fell to his knees, the strength draining out of him. "Never wound a predator and leave them. You either should've killed me or left me alone. Bet you won't make that mistake next time, will you Harry?" "At… least… you… didn't… get…" "Your precious Margo?" She held up Margo's severed head and kissed it tenderly on the lips as the light faded for Harry. * * * * * Harry's eyes shot open. For a moment he lay still except for the fingers he was pinching himself with, trying to insure it wasn't another nightmare. When he was sure he was really awake, he looked next to him in bed. Carol to his right. Margo to his left, he wished he could say he was sorry she was there, he was sorry that Carol had called her, but he wasn't. He was in fact so glad he almost burst into tears. He carefully got out of bed, crawling off the end, and walked out into the living room. Eddy lay on the floor, asleep, his giant frame an incongruous sight when viewed next to the peaceful, almost child-like expression on his face. Sitting next to him was Kelly, sipping on a glass of water. "Hail Arthur," she whispered, "rough night, my liege." "Yes," he answered sadly, "rough night indeed." He walked past her into the kitchen and out onto the back deck where he came to rest on the steps. Kelly joined him a moment later. "My lord, what brings you forth from Guinevere and Merlin's sweet embraces?" Harry smiled, "My dreams plague me, Lady Kay, and make my sleep a horrid thing, best avoided. Why sleep you not?" "I, my lord, was thinking how best to implore Merlin's aid in finding a woman for the brave Sir Edward. He is a good and true knight" "None finer." "-and I know that he suffers greatly for lack of someone to love him. I am afeared that he might take my hours with him tonight as a sign that I might want something more of him than a few brief hours pleasure and I do not, although his friendship I would not spurn." "Worry not, Lady Kay, methinks Merlin already doth work on such a project, although perhaps she herself knows it not as yet." "Ah, then I shall rest easy for if Merlin put her mind to it, he is already paired and loved, we just know it not." Harry turned and looked at Kelly and smiled. "You realize you're crazier than a shit-house rat, don't you?" "Oh yeah, Harry, not a doubt in my mind." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "How are you doing, other than the nightmares?" "Real shaky." "C'mon then, follow Auntie Kelly, let's go inside and talk." Harry followed her in, grabbed a large bottle of water from the fridge and then on into the guest bedroom where he waited while she brought in the water pipe and loaded it. They sat and smoked awhile, lying on the bed, side by side. When the bowl was finished, Kelly sat up and had Harry put his head in her lap. "Now Harry, what's got you so freaky from what happened earlier tonight?" "Isn't it obvious?" "Harry, you need to say it. Now, go ahead." "How can I live with myself after treating Angie that way? How can they live with me? How can any of you stand to be in the same goddamn room with me?" "Because she deserved every second of it and more… because the first thing that happened after she called me a 'nigger' was you hit the bitch so hard she ended up on her ass four feet away. Because I feel safe with you knowing that you'll never do to me what you did to her because I'll never give you a reason to. Because when it came time to do the dirty work of getting physical with that slut you spared me and sent the woman you love." "Huh?" "You heard me, Harry. You've got to get your head out of Self-Loathing Land and come back here where the rest of us are. Yeah, you got rough with the slut. Number one, she bought that E-Ticket ride; number two, I saw your face… you stopped when you had enough to do the job, when you couldn't take it anymore… you didn't keep going out of some sick perverse need to torture her… you stopped. With what you had on that whore you could have degraded and humiliated her all night long, done a lot more damage to her than Carol did… you didn't. You stopped. Don't be telling me what an evil motherfucker you are. I know better." "What did Carol do?" "Nothing much… slapped her around some, broke her nose, made her believe she was gonna die so she pissed and shit herself." Harry smiled, "That's my girl." Kelly looked at him angrily. "And that's the kind of shit that'll make me crazy for real. She does this shit, you're proud, you do much less nasty shit and you're Charlie Manson's younger brother. What the fuck is up with that?" "Because I let the bitch do it to me… she just stumbled on the wreckage Angie left behind… she didn't help Angie make it." "Alright, I can buy that. But what are you afraid of, Harry? You gave her a dose of her own medicine, treated her better than she deserved, and that's coming from a relatively objective source, she's gone, you're free, the good guys have won, let's give out some medals and fuck!" "I'm afraid that Carol and Margo won't be able to forgive me." "Bullshit Harry! You know as well as I do that you could've killed the bitch and fucked her still warm corpse, then ground her up and fed her to school kids and they would forgive you without a second's hesitation. They love you Harry, just like you love them: so much it's scary. So now we know that that was bullshit, what? You believe in God Harry? Well, if you do, it's pretty much certain God would forgive you; he forgives worse if you read the press handouts. You were afraid that Eddy and I wouldn't forgive you? I told you earlier how I felt. Eddy? He's still wondering, seriously, why she's still alive. I like Eddy a lot but he does sometimes have a real simplistic view of how to solve personality conflicts. So who, out of tonight's little psycho-drama, is left? "You and Angie. "Do you want Angie's forgiveness, Harry?" "No, I don't want anything from her but what she agreed to tonight." "Alrighty then, now we're getting somewhere. So who's left to forgive you, Harry? Who?" "Me." "Damn straight. You. So why can't you forgive you, Harry? Are you going to tell me you sank to her level? Bullshit! To do that you'd have to marry her for money alone and live three years in the marriage, fucking everything that had two legs and a slit between them. Are you going to tell me you can't forgive yourself for wanting to kill her? 'Wanting's not a sin, Harry, no matter what the Catholic Church says. Hell, I'd have been amazed if you hadn't wanted to kill the unsavory slut. The woman was a head game surrounded by a mind fuck wrapped up with a psycho-bitch-bow on top! Are you going to tell me you failed your self-image of yourself? You didn't live up to your own standards? You failed you? "If that's what it is Harry, then quit torturing yourself for something you'd forgive any one of us for without thinking. You're human. You momentarily didn't live up to your potential. Ruffle your hair, tell yourself to do better next time and let yourself off the hook. No one here thinks any less of you and I know one of us," she smiled at him, "thinks even more highly of you than she did before." She slid down beside him and held him, kissing him gently all over his face. "Harry, I don't mean, in any way, to belittle how you feel. Tonight was rough, harder on you than on any of us, by orders of magnitude. Just don't make it any harder on yourself than it already is." "Kelly, thank you, not just for the talk, but for everything tonight. You were magnificent with Angie and I appreciate it. I'll keep on appreciating it too, but there was something special I wanted to do to show my appreciation. It's crude but reasonably effective." She twitched her hips at him. "Why Arthur, how crude are you planning to be?" "Nothing like that… at least not right now. How much more do you need to save for your next term of college?" "I'm a little ahead of my schedule, I need about another thirty-five hundred dollars. Why?" "You don't need that money anymore. Later today I'm writing you a check for five thousand. Like I said, it's crude, but it's a gift to express my gratitude for your help last night. You went so far above and beyond the call… words fail me." "Harry, you can't!" "Yes I can and if I have to I'll get Carol to argue you into accepting, so you know you've lost, just say yes now." She kissed him. "Yes. Now go to bed. You have two lovers to wake up between. I think, being newly wealthy, that I'm calling in sick today. I'm going to see Eddy off at some point and then don't be surprised if I come charging in that bedroom and rape you, Harry!" He snuggled his body close to hers, his erection poking her thighs. "Can't rape the willing, dear." * * * * * Harry carefully got into bed between the women he adored. They stirred a bit but both were deeply enough asleep to remain so through his comings and goings. He lay in bed and thought about what Kelly had told him. She was right and he knew it. He was holding himself to a standard that he would have considered foolish in anyone else. Had anyone else slipped as he had, he would forgive them without thinking twice. Why then was he so hard on himself? He wasn't sure but he would work on easing up a bit. Or at least shoving his issues out of the way until he had the time to deal with them. It was time to get some more sleep. Saturday proper was going to be a busy day. * * * * * Harry woke up again, scarcely three hours later. No further nightmares had plagued his sleep but he was restless. He got out of bed, softly padded through the living room where Kelly and Eddy slept and went into the kitchen. His answering machine's message light was flashing furiously and he had a good idea who it was. He had calls to make before returning that call. He picked up the phone and dialed Karen's number. "Hello, Karen? Yes, I do know what time it is… no, no I wasn't aware that this was 'cuddle with Patricia' time, hold the phone up to her ear… sorry Patricia, let me take y'all to supper to make up for it? Good, that'll work… Karen? Okay, that's settled, wouldn't want to get in trouble with the lady of the house… Sappho, you still suck at housecleaning? Yeah, I didn't figure you'd gotten any better… I know of an excellent housekeeper, just became available four days a week and really needs the work… yeah, Anna, been working for my family eighteen years…two days a week, Monday and Thursday? Okay, we can shift me to Tuesdays and Fridays… how high you willing to go? She's really good, worth a lot… you'd go five hundred a week for two days? How about seven-fifty? C'mon Sappho, I know you've got the money… you won't go seven-fifty but you'll go six hundred? Perfect, Karen… you realize I've talked you into paying her way more than you should? Okay… don't worry, you negotiated me down to what I'm paying her. Yeah, we're both saints… alright how does seven this evening at Chez Bubba's sound for supper? No I'm not going to take you out someplace horribly pretentious… every time I do you get bored and start making a scene… alright, see you then… the two of you lick each other in really naughty places for me… love you, Sappho, until tonight." He punched 'Play' on the answering machine. As he suspected, it was a stream of almost incoherent apologies and warnings from Anna about her slip to Angie regarding him and Carol. Nowhere in it did Anna say a word about Angie firing her. It figured, Harry thought. He dialed Anna's number. "Hello, is Anna there? It's Harry Grimes… well hello Galena, how are you? Good, how's school? You're doing much better than I ever did… here she is? Gracias… Anna… no… no, you have nothing to apologize for… no you don't… no you don't… alright, even if you do, I forgive you, Carol forgives you… she'll say it in person next time you see her… yes, really… yes Angie showed up here… it was very ugly but it turned out very well for me and very badly for her… well, I'm sure God will forgive you for that… and that… even for that… so, I understand you've got some more free time on your hands… yes, He'll even forgive you for calling her that and I'll remember it to use later… so, how would you like to work here Tuesdays and Fridays, for my partner Ms. Karen Mondays and Thursdays, six hundred a week from each of us? Yes, six hundred each… I know Angie was only paying you a hundred dollars a day... yes, if it'll make you feel better, bring Galena along to help… well if she wants to that's fine, she can take care of the pool, she can use the pool, soon as its put in… yeah, I'm excited about it too… alright, you've got the new schedule, here's Karen's address and phone number, 8459 Great Hills Trails #188, yes, that's up near Creekwood… 555-4178… alright, Carol will see you and Galena Tuesday… that's right, no more Ms. Angie for either of us, ever. Goodbye Anna." He got up and went into the laundry room and grabbed a pair of shorts. Slipping them on, he started a pot of coffee. When it was through he poured himself a hefty mug three-quarters full, doctored it liberally with blackberry brandy and added milk and sugar. Taking his coffee he walked out onto the deck and sat in the shade, enjoying the morning before the sun made it a sweltering hell. As he sat there, listening to the birds, picturing the back yard as it would be, he heard the door open and close behind him. Carol walked up, rubbing her eyes with one hand, pulling on a t-shirt with the other. She knelt beside him on the deck and put her head on his leg. Harry looked down at her, straight into her best 'big-pleading-puppy-dog-eyes' with a touch of a quivering lip, glancing briefly every so often at the coffee cup. Harry laughed and Carol laughed with him. She reached over, took a healthy slug of his coffee. "Day-um Harry, you didn't tell me you were having special coffee this morning." "After last night, I deserve it. Hell, after last night, all of us deserve it." She reached for the cup again. "Hey, get your own damn coffee!" She took the cup from him. "Don't worry Harry," she said, finishing his cup, "I'll go get you another cup, make me a cup and start another pot…looked like Kelly was showing signs of stirring when I came through. No signs of life from Margo or Eddy though." As she was heading for the door, Kelly came through wearing an almost non-existent thong and Eddy's shirt from the night before. "Carol, Merlin, Mistress… if I promised to spend an hour licking you wherever and however you asked would you please bring me a cup of Caffiena's Blessing?" Carol kissed her. "I won't charge you for coffee, although I won't turn down freely offered attentions. Would you like it leaded or unleaded?" "Oh, leaded with whatever you choose to lead it with. Howdy Harry, how're you feeling this morning?" "Much better, thanks to our talk last night. I'm still not back to normal, but I'm much better than I was." They kissed each other good morning and Kelly sat down on a bench next to Harry's Adirondack chair. Carol returned, handed Harry his coffee and took her cup over to Kelly. "Sorry, just enough left for one but I'll share it with you. Of course, that'll involve you 'baby-birding' it to me while I lay with my head in your lap." "Not a problem sweetie, lay the fuck on down." She took a sip. "Ummm, this is good stuff." She took another swig and brought Carol's head up as she kissed her, dribbling the brandy-laced coffee into her mouth. Oil of Roses Ch. 11 "Damn, I didn't think your kisses could get any sweeter," she said when she was finished and Carol's head was back in her lap, "but oh shucky darn, wrong again." The two women laughed together and Harry reflected that there weren't much more beautiful sounds than the loving laughter of sexy women first thing in the morning. "Harry, I've been thinking," Carol said, "and I was wondering how devoted you are to Eddy?" "What do you mean?" "Well, I think we can get him just the woman he needs, that would need him, but it might be a little expensive." "I'm not that awake yet. Expensive?" "We'll have to buy her off an asshole that won't part with her easily." "Uh huh… has anyone told him slavery is illegal?" "Harry, you know the kind of people 'Jimmy' and 'Paulie' pretended to be? That's the kind of person he is." "Oh. What happens if we 'buy' her and she and Eddy don't hit it off?" "Not much chance of that where she's concerned, sir, he's just her type. Now, Eddy not taking to her, well, that is a risk. If he doesn't… well, he or we could sell her or keep her." "What the hell happened to the whole 'setting her free to make her own choices' option?" "You haven't met Tamara, sir. That isn't an option. It's a threat." "Lovely. When do you want to pick her up?" "You're willing to do this? For Eddy?" "Love, I owe Eddy for more things than I can count. I owe him for last night. I'm trying to learn to trust your instincts. If you think there's a good chance this'll work and hook him up with a woman that won't fuck him over, I'm game." "Uh, I know where she and Fat Phillie will be tonight." "Excuse me, who?" "Her owner, 'Fat Phillie' Philouma. He plays in a Mexican Stud Poker game on Saturday evenings in a place down south." "You're talking about Philip Philouma, son of Victor Philouma?" "Yeah, Vic's kid." "Victor Philouma, widely believed to be the head of organized crime in the city." "Yeah, Vic." "Do you miss running in the kind of exciting circles where you'd get to know these sorts, Carol?" "Not at all, sir, not at all." * * * * * As it got hotter they moved inside to the kitchen table where the smell of coffee eventually brought Margo and Eddy to join the morning crew. "Eddy, we're meeting for dinner at Chez Bubba's at 7. Margo, Carol and I may be a little late so I was thinking you and Kelly could keep Karen and Patricia company until we got there." "Uh, sure. I didn't have anything planned tonight except for some more senseless drug use and chemical abuse." "Well, now you have plans." As Carol and Kelly fixed breakfast, Margo sat in Harry's lap. "Harry, I'm home if you want me to be." "No, beloved, what do you want?" "I don't want to not be here when you need me again." Her lovely face crumpled slightly. "Unless you didn't need me last night…" "Goddamn it Margo, don't you dare do that! My love, we need you every day, every hour. You're a part of us and that's not going to change. But you felt, may still feel, that you need some time to get shit straight in your own head" "Should I go somewhere else?" Eddy asked. "Shut up and drink your coffee, Eddy," Margo said, smiling at him. "Yes'm." "-and if that's still the case then you need to be away from here. So really, where do you need to be?" "Let me think on it." "Margo my love, nobody's rushing you but you." As the food started to hit the table long-denied stomachs made their demands loudly heard and soon there was no more conversation, just the sounds of five people eating good food and appreciating same. After breakfast Harry made the next of his phone calls, reserving a private room at Chez Bubba's for his party that night. Then he called his lawyer and told him what to expect. J. Noble Daggett had argued with Harry at the onset to set up air-tight pre-nuptials but Harry had been in love and stupid to boot. He was happy to hear about the papers he was to receive and would have pressed Harry for details except Harry'd already told him not to ask. He had never been impressed with Angie, had recognized her for the scheming bitch she was and wondered if he'd ever know what had convinced her to give up her rights to her share of the community property. But if one couldn't stand never knowing the truth, then the law was not the profession one should pursue. * * * * * "Well, thanks one and all for an interesting evening and an Angie ass-whuppin' I woulda paid good money to see," Eddy said, pulling on his boots. "I need to get home, freshen up some. I'll be at Chez Bubba's about 6:30, see y'all there." After hugs and kisses, Eddy headed out. Kelly threw on her clothes from the night before. "Arthur, my liege, if we are to venture forth tonight in search of adventure, I must needs repair to mine own castle and prepare as did Sir Edward." She pressed her body next to his and caressed his cock through his shorts. "Yet again I find myself leaving Camelot without having achieved my desires. I will have thee, Arthur. Thou cannot forever slip so neatly out of my grasp." Margo moved up and grabbed Harry's right arm. "Good Lady Kay, know that you will have your way with Arthur even if I have to hold him down myself." Carol grabbed his other arm. "Aye noble lady, for I have enchantments that will stupefy him and make him docile so that he might be bent to thy will. These will I gladly employ to help thee." "Then hear my pledge, Arthur of the Britons. Before your head hits pillow again for sleep I shall have my way with you!" "So say I," echoed Carol. "And I as well," added Margo. Harry just grinned. * * * * * While Harry washed up the breakfast dishes and Margo straightened up the bedroom, Carol very carefully gathered the 2 rugs and 4 pillows that Angie had touched. "Harry, I'm throwing them away," she called out. "Please do, I don't want them in our house," he answered, knowing exactly what she was referring to. Carol took them out to the trash. Margo had the bedroom back to a somewhat more orderly state. She climbed up on the bed, sat down and thought. When she came back to the house, was she running away from something or was she running to something? The first time she'd come here, away, certainly. But that was done and in another fifty-seven days it would all be over and she'd be shut of Benjamin Abraham Sapperstein forever. The first time she'd come back after that was to christen the bed. That wasn't running away. The second time was because she was needed and that wasn't running away either. How could she go on pretending that she was doing anything alone in her barren little apartment but mourning the fact that she wasn't home? She wasn't working on erasing the big red 'V for Victim' off her forehead when she wasn't with her loves; she was rocking back and forth, missing them with all her heart. It was impossible to think about 'getting her head together' when all she could do was think about the joy and love she was estranged from because of her own fears and insecurities. Harry and Carol didn't ask her to be perfect, they didn't demand that she have it all together, they simply loved her the way she was. She threw on her clothes, grabbed her keys and purse and headed out the door. * * * * * Harry and Carol stared at each other as she drove away, not knowing in the least what to say to each other. "She'll come back when she's ready," offered Harry. "We still have each other here to hold on to," said Carol. "Harry, come help me clean myself out. I feel the need for you to take me in my ass. I need to feel owned." A long shower and some special cleaning later, Carol lay on the bed, as Harry lightly massaged and stroked her ass. SMACK! "What?" "Did I not tell you specifically not to call Margo?" "Yes sir, that was one sir." SMACK! "But I'm glad you did, Little Cunt, so this isn't going to be just a spanking." "Oh God I hope not. That was two, sir." Eight smacks later, Carol lay on the bed, her waist hoisted high on pillows as Harry licked back and forth between her cunt and her ass, nibbling and tongue-thrusting, grasping her hips firmly in his hands. "Ummm, thank you sir, this is part of just what your little pet needed. Any time I'm feeling insecure, ummm, give some attention to my ass." Harry lifted his head. "Do I even want to try to figure out the psychology behind that?" "No sir, you just want to appreciate it." "I do, believe me." There was a honking outside, a car horn. Harry tongue-fucked her ass, running his hands up her sides to her shoulders, gripping them tightly and pulling her towards his face. "Oh sir, see how nice it is when I've been properly cleaned?" "Ummm hmmm." The car horn continued to honk. "Will whoever please go tell them to get off their horn, they're spoiling my mood!" Harry buried his face in her cunt, working her clit back and forth. "Alright, they're not spoiling it that much." As Harry moved his tongue back and forth over the tiny nub, Carol climaxed and her moan filled the room, so neither of them heard the footsteps approaching. "When you two are through, would you like to help me unload my stuff from the car?" Margo asked. Two very surprised faces looked up at her. After throwing some clothes on the two of them were humping loads in from her car. When the job was done there was a pile of clothes on hangers, a few garbage sacks of non-hangables, a few boxes of books, a box of jewelry and assorted personal care items, her Sybian Sex Machine, two small boxes of kitchen wares, an ice chest of food and drinks, a box with dry and canned goods and not much else. There hadn't been any conversation while they were unloading the car as Harry and Carol had been afraid to ask what it all meant and Margo assumed they knew. Harry was first to take the plunge. "So, moving a few things over for when you visit?" Margo looked at him, confused. "No Harry, this is it, all I'm bringing with me. Everything else is either in the bank or I don't give a shit about." Now Harry was confused but Carol had begun to snap. "Margo, love, do you mean you've decided to stay? You're home?' she asked. "Yes Baby Girl, I thought the two of you knew." Harry and Carol, in a reversal of their recent trend, put Margo on the bed before they threw themselves on her. Her clothes somehow disappeared, as did theirs. "Guys, I'm really sweaty…" she said. "Shut up," her lovers replied in unison. So she did and she was in her lovers' arms and their hands were everywhere at once and they were crying and she was crying and they were kissing her and she would kiss any part of them that got close enough to kiss. When the frenzy of welcome finally calmed Carol was between her legs, making love to her with her tongue while Harry held her in his arms, kissing her passionately and stroking her breasts. Harry paused for a moment and looked into her eyes. "Margo Wohler, will you marry me" "YES!" "-when both our divorces are final and accept ownership with me of this most special pet?" "Yes, Harry, yes." "Then tonight's an engagement party. We'll pick you out a ring tomorrow." The three of them cried together yet again. * * * * * Harry woke up and slowly realized that somewhere in all the crying and cuddling he'd gone to sleep. Not surprising given the night before. He turned his head to look at the woman he was going to marry. Her long auburn hair spread over the bed like a spill of rose-tinted honey, her pale, slightly golden skin glowing in the afternoon's light. She was home. She was home where she belonged. She still had issues she needed to work through, which of them didn't? But they could work through them together, helping each other the way they were meant to. That's what friends were for, that's what family was for. "Why didn't you fall for her when you were in high school together, Harry?" Carol whispered from behind him. "I don't know… a lot of had to do with the cliques we hung with, a lot of it had to do with our perceived social differences. I was a Stoner, she was a Brain. I was the son of Methodists, she was a Lutheran minister's daughter… biggest problem was that like every girl I found attractive, she was beautiful and I was just another geeky guy with a perpetual hard-on and the social graces of a epileptic bull moose. There are a lot of guys, my love, who go through their teen years firmly convinced they're not worthy of any girl… not that they've put girls on a pedestal, just that they perceive themselves as so uncouth that they completely ignore any possible signals that a girl might be interested in them because that's simply inconceivable to them. And the one signal a girl could send them is one that until recently it seemed socially unacceptable to send: hey, I like you and want to go out with you. There was the whole 'what was proper female behavior and what was not' thing and a lot of the burden for initiating social interaction fell on the sex least able to handle it. I was in college before I lost my virginity and the only reason it happened then was the girl bluntly said 'wanna fuck' and I managed to get 'yes' out without stammering too much." "But she's yours now." "No Baby Girl, she's ours now." "Well then," Margo murmured sleepily, "are you gonna molest me or not?" "I thought we might wait until you were a little more awake myself," Harry said, grinning. "Yeah," Carol said, "I've always considered it bad form to interrupt a nap just because I was so horny I could wear out a set of batteries." "I'm awake now," Margo said with a yawn, "so there's no need to delay any longer." She smiled and stretched, her body in full extension almost overhanging the end of the bed. "Damn, I love this bed. I can stretch and-" Her sentence was cut short by Carol's kiss; her stretch was interrupted by Harry wrapping an arm around her middle and pulling himself to her. Before she was even aware of what was happening, Harry's head was between her legs, licking and teasing her as Carol was sucking at her breasts. Margo's mind had been at peace for the first time in as long as she could remember since she made her decision to come home. She had allowed her own fears and insecurities to overcomplicate the situation. Her lovers had been okay with that. They had been willing to allow her all the time she needed to get it together. Where was it more together than when she was with them? Harry had decided that the warm moist welcome his tongue had received meant he should stay and bury his face in her welcoming wetness but Margo had other plans. She grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head up. "Fuck me, Harry." "Your husband shall do as you command," he replied. He began to reposition himself and tuck pillows under her ass. "What did you say, Harry? Did you refer to yourself as my husband?" "Ahyup, sure did," he said as he made sure she was properly supported and prepared to slide into her. "Why?" Harry sat back on his knees and looked at her through the 'vee' of her long legs. "Margo, as far as I'm concerned, in my heart and the eyes of God I became your husband the moment you said you'd marry me. To love, honor and cherish from this day forward in sickness and in health till death do us part. Waiting until our divorces are final is a formality for the State and the State's not welcome in our home, we don't have enough room. The same for a license… I don't need it. Had one once and it didn't make it a marriage neither did it stop it from being a tragedy. I want a big ceremony with all the trimmings when we're legally able to have one, but that's for you and our friends. I'll enjoy it but I don't need it. Unions are made in the heart and it seems damned foolish to me to call our union one thing and then another simply because of the laws of men." "Baby Girl," Margo sniffed, "do you ever want to just hold him so tightly you'd probably break him, just because you love him so much." "All the time." "Harry, come make love to your wife." "Gladly." As he slid into her, in his heart he knew that at last everything was right. He was where he belonged, as were Carol and Margo. Carol was blissfully happy as she and Margo made out, kissing deeply and passionately as Carol's hands caressed her co-owner's body. Co-owner… Carol thought that sounded clumsy and unwieldy. "Margo," she said, breaking from the kiss, "with Harry I can refer to him as 'sir'… how shall I refer to you more formally… 'madam'… 'mistress'… 'missus'… what name would please you?" "Oh, madam I think… mmmm, yes, madam… Harry, I think I'm there." Further intelligent conversation with Margo was impossible as her climax began and the beautiful flush rose through her body. Carol attached her mouth to Margo's breast and bit down, causing Margo to moan as her orgasm continued. As it slowly wound down, Carol leaned up and whispered in her ear. "Madam, it is so good to have you home where you belong." Another orgasm began to shake Margo's form. "O-o-oh Baby G-girl, I like that n-name." Carol got up and went behind Harry. She could tell he was on the edge himself. "Sir," she said, "thrust in and stay there." He did so and she moved in-between his legs and sucked his nut sack into her mouth, swirling her tongue around it. She felt him trembling above her just as she felt his balls convulsing in her mouth. She released them and crawled up on the bed, fingering herself to a quick, down and dirty orgasm as she watched her beloved owners ride out the aftershocks of theirs. As the three of them lay there, cooling down, Carol said, "Sir, we'd better get cleaned up and dressed if you want to see about Tamara tonight". Harry looked at the clock. "Holy shit, you're right. We'd better get a move on." "Who's Tamara?" Margo asked. "We'll fill you in as we go," Harry replied as they headed for the shower. Oil of Roses Ch. 12 Many thanks to Literotica author ‘englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author ‘KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Starting with this chapter, bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * After they had showered and while the ladies were dressing, Harry went upstairs to his father's old office. Praying that his memory didn't fail him he twirled the combination to his father's safe and pulled on the handle. Nothing happened. Sweat popped out on his brow, he turned the handle a little more firmly and it moved. Sighing with relief he looked inside, grabbed a sheaf of bills and closed it again, spinning the lock. His father had always believed that even the most law-abiding citizen might at some point in his life need several items and that was what he kept in his fireproof safe. Ten thousand dollars and his family's passports… Harry had periodically switched the money for fresh bills over the years. The only passport it held now was his, never used and probably out of date. Harry cursed himself for his forgetfulness. He had meant to go to the bank that morning but other things had occupied his mind and here he needed cash and there was only the one place to take it from. It bothered him more to be using it from the ‘emergency fund', as his dad had called it, than to be spending the money in the first place. As he went back downstairs he started thinking about other ways to remodel the house. His father's old office, for example, might be a lot more useful to him on the ground floor than upstairs. To be truthful, he hardly ever even thought about the three bedrooms and two baths upstairs. When his mother had taken ill and become too weak to climb the stairs, his father had gutted most of the downstairs and remodeled to its present configuration; a large living room, a large master bedroom and bath and a small guest room and bath where his father had spent many a night half asleep, listening for his wife's call. Upstairs one of the bedrooms had become his father's office, moved from the den on the first floor. The other two had been his and Nicki's rooms. He would have to talk it over with his wife and their pet, see what they thought might be done with all the unused space upstairs. As the ladies had been dressing, Carol had filled Margo in on their plans to acquire Tamara for Eddy. "So," Margo asked, "how much do you think she'll be and how much danger will we be in dealing with Mr. Philouma?" "You, my precious darling, won't be in any danger," Harry said, coming in the door, "I hope. You'll be at the wheel of the car, ready to get us the fuck out of Dodge. As for Carol and I, well, answer the question, my pet." "Vic keeps Phillie on a pretty tight leash these days and the leash is held by a couple of Vic's boys that are there to protect Phil. About the worst that could happen is you'd get the shit kicked out of you. Me they'd probably just slap around, fuck once or twice and let go." "Oh, sounds delightful… any idea how best to avoid that?" "Well, of course, be respectful, other than that, play it by ear. He's a walking case of small-dick syndrome, with good cause from what I hear, so be polite. Don't kiss ass, though. You kiss ass and he's going to walk all over you and we still won't get what we want. The last time I heard anything, which was about six months ago, he was already tired of Tamara but I haven't heard of her being sold. I imagine if you make him a decent offer, he'll go for it." "How decent an offer is ‘decent'?" "He won her in a poker game covering a thirty-five hundred dollar bet. He'll want more than that but if you don't piss him off, I imagine we could get her for as low as a thousand." "Harry, did you plan for the night of our engagement party to also involve buying a woman for Eddy from a mobster?" Margo asked. "No honey, it just worked out that way." "Good, I was hoping this wasn't a part of the experience that I was supposed to have fun with somehow." * * * * * The Campisi Gentlemen's Club wasn't much to look at from the outside. A storefront with a painted-over front window, the small sign proclaiming its name mounted just slightly askew on the door. The surrounding store fronts were all for lease and had been for as long as anyone could remember. The façade didn't fool anyone, least of all the police. The club behind the door paid its money, bought their inattention and all was right with the world. Nobody questioned the large men with suspicious bulges under their arms that watched the area and the parking lot across the street with its crop of BMWs and Mercedes. Nobody mentioned the fact that> in a part of town noted for the homeless, street crime and random acts of vandalism, this area was curiously immune to those urban plagues. It was simply the way things were. As they pulled up, Carol and Harry got out. "Margo," Carol said, "I wouldn't leave the motor running, it might make security a little nervous. If all goes well, we'll be out in about fifteen minutes. If we're not out in forty-five minutes, drive away. Whatever you do, don't call the police. They're not going to hurt us too badly if they hurt us at all. If they do we'll call you from the hospital." "Harry?" Margo said. "You're the one who told me to trust her instincts, dear, time to take your own advice. We'll be fine. You stay out here, keep cool; we'll be back in a few." As they walked up the sidewalk to the entrance, Carol put her leash firmly in Harry's hand. "Harry, you're buying her for someone else, I'm on loan to you because I know her, I know Phil and I know my new owner's tastes." "How much trouble are we really in?" "Not much. I'd say there's only a five percent chance that things will go badly." "Alright, one in twenty, I can live with those odds." They hit the door. * * * * * Eddy pulled up to Chez Bubba's, got out of his truck and stared at the restaurant with anticipation. It had been too long since he'd been there and he'd missed it. In one of the periodic attempts to revitalize the east part of the city a deluded chef from Quebec named Henri Laroque with more money than sense had built a lovely restaurant and named it "Chez Henri". His move south had been prompted by his hatred of the cold but it was soon postulated among the locals that the real reason he'd moved was that he'd been chased out for being a shitty cook and a worse businessman. Anyone who'd eaten at Chez Henri was more than likely a supporter of that position. Negative reviews and horrible word-of mouth performed as a Greek chorus to the restaurant's tragic story. Soon it was evident that the venture was going to fail and one night, around 11:30 according to witnesses, a shot was heard from inside. It is a measure of the esteem with which his neighbors regarded Henri that no one called it in until the next morning. When police arrived, they found that Henri had blown his brains out all over the west wall of the dining room. The building eventually found its way onto the auction block where it was purchased by a couple of well-educated good ol' boys who had found an inspiration for their dining venture in a typical review of Henri's. "When a Texan is arrogant, we laugh it off with ‘It ain't braggin' if'n it's the truth'. When Henri Laroque of Chez Henri is arrogant, he has no such leg to stand on. "This reviewer loves fine French cuisine as any regular reader of my column can attest. What I was served at Chez Henri last night is to French cuisine what McDonald's McRib is to Barbeque; what some bland Yankee bean-filled, tomato-y stew is to Chili; what a college cafeteria's all-purpose-patty with rubber gravy is to Chicken Fried Steak." So, a building designed in French Provincial style was renovated as if taken over by poor white trailer trash. Two additions, to provide private rooms, wore the facades of a double-wide mobile home and a tin shack. Various small stovepipe chimneys poking up at different spots on the roof carried the smoke from the barbeque pits away. The elegant crest, in scrolling calligraphy, that once read "Chez Henri" now sported "Bubba's" hand painted in red with a big brush over "Henri". The menu, once an elegant placard of French delicacies, was changed to black crayon on brown paper; one side telling the history of the building as well as the story of Henri, the other listing items like "Chicken Fried Steak- if you kin say it ain't the best you ever et, we'll call you a liar to your face", "Beer-Battered Catfish Fillets- Beer an' Grease, to of the Texas food groops" and "Chili, Hot or Hotter ‘n Hell- you ask for beans an' we ask you to leave". The main dining room, once so pretentious with its period furniture, delicate and frail, was now populated with sturdy mismatched tables and comfortable, uglier-than-sin chairs. The walls were covered with every type of red-neck memorabilia imaginable, except for one section of the wall. It was roped off and for a five dollar contribution to ‘Heifer Project International' a guest could have their picture taken with ‘whut wuz left of Henree', a careful copy of the original blood splatter in dark maroon paint, almost brown, and the real bullet hole. It was an immediate hit with diners. The food was superb, the service friendly and the atmosphere… well, the atmosphere was unique. For years when Eddy had worked in the east part of town, he had lived at Chez Bubba's, eating lunch and supper there practically every day. Eddy could taste their Chicken Fried Steak already… pounded round steak, hand-dipped in batter, deep-fried, covered in gravy that you could taste the bacon grease in, a necessity as any true connoisseur of southern cream gravy would tell you, the steak so big it overhung the plate, so tender you could cut it with a fork. Eddy had gotten weak-kneed just thinking about it. And Eddy would get to see Karen again. In a world full of women that were tiny fragile creatures to be treated gently or else he might hurt them, Karen was, while still a woman, definitely ‘one of the guys'. He'd missed her in the years he and Harry'd not been hanging together. * * * * * "Alright Patricia, now there's a lot I need to, well, I guess I need to warn you about before we get there." Patricia Keller looked at her partner Karen with some suspicion. She had met Harry before the separation and liked him, he was a good person. She hadn't much cared for his wife and was not surprised to hear the revelations about her behavior. She had heard a little about Carol, mostly that she was responsible for the turnaround in Harry's life that had, in turn, led to the change in Karen. It was a change that still seemed almost too good to be true. Karen had made her a promise and given her a means of altering Karen's habitual workaholic behavior. She was to use Karen's full name, Karen Elizabeth Pinard, and order her to either get to bed and make love to her, or to take her out somewhere on a date. Patricia hadn't believed Karen would let it work at first but she was becoming a believer. It was obvious that Karen loved her very much and was willing to do anything to make their relationship work. They'd spent more time in bed than they had in months and more time out together having fun than they ever had. And to tell the truth, Patricia was finding she enjoyed having that power. "Alright… such as?" "Well, Harry's life has gotten a little… bizarre… since his separation. He's involved with Carol in a sort of B&D, Dom & sub kind of way, and he's involved with an old friend of his named Margo in a normal romantic kind of way, not that he's not romantically involved with Carol, he is, and she is with him, and Carol and Margo love each other as well, it's hard to explain and I'm sure I'm not doing a very good job of it, but, well, they're a threesome. "Eddy's going to be there too and Eddy's going to say some things to me that'll probably raise your eyebrows. I'll do the same right back but believe me, he's one of the sweetest men alive and he'd take a bullet for you if you asked him and probably still would if you didn't. "I just didn't want you to be too surprised if things get a little… odd… tonight." "I'm forewarned," said Patricia. * * * * * The inside of Campisi Gentlemen's Club wasn't some glitzy Vegas nightmare. It had been decorated when founded in 1949 by Vittorio Campisi's wife, Speranza, and she had very good taste. Cypress plank paneling, fixtures in light bronze, leaning towards gold. The furniture was leather in dark blues and greens with the occasional dark burgundy. Successive generations of the Campisi family hadn't seen a need to change the décor, merely maintain it. Large period ceiling fans stirred the air and regular careful cleaning had kept the smoke deposits from building up on any visible surface. It was an establishment that discouraged the curious and the first line in that discouragement was a walking wall of grey-pinstriped suit standing just outside the door. "Excuse me, do you have business inside?" the wall asked. Carol looked up at him. "We're here to see Phil." "Is Phil expecting you?" "No." "Wait a minute… do I know you?" "Maybe… I used to come here a lot with Tony Juliana a few years ago." "Sure, little Carol, I remember, go on in… be careful, he ain't in a good mood." "When is the fat fuck ever in a good mood?" "I'll pretend I didn't hear that… I'll even pretend I don't agree with it." They walked inside. The maple floors, shining where they weren't obscured by thick Persian carpets, gave a slight echo to their footsteps as they walked down the corridor that stretched before them. Small security cameras swiveled to watch their passing. "This is nothing like what I expected. This place is beautiful." "Yes sir, Speranza Campisi, the decorator, was a classy lady from what I hear. I talked with her daughter, Violetta, a lot when I used to come here with Tony. Lord knows there wasn't much else to do while I was being his ‘good luck charm'. I'd hang on his neck between hands sometimes, I'd escort him when he was taking a break, but otherwise, I was pretty much at loose ends. So I spent quite a bit of time talking with Violetta and some of the other women." They passed from the hallway into a foyer where a pair of gentlemen looked them over carefully, patting them both down thoroughly and examining each object they found. "I'm here to see Phil," Carol said. "He's playing in the Trapani Room, second door to your right in the East wing." "Thank you." They turned to the right and after a short hall entered a large open area that spread out to their left, small and intimate groupings of furniture dotting the space. To their right, doors with name plaques; "Palermo", "Siracusa", "Ragusa", "Catania", "Messina", "Agrigento" and finally "Trapani". The suited man outside the door smiled at her. "Hey, Carol, good to see you again." "Al? My God Al, you're looking great!" She glanced down to see a prominent wedding band on his ring finger. "And married? It seems to be agreeing with you." "Oh yeah! You remember Carla Russo? Well, she said ‘yes' and I've never been happier. We've been married two and a half years now; our first child is on the way." "Al, two and a half years and just now pregnant? I don't think you've been being a good Catholic." "Look Carol, what goes on with my privates is between me, Carla and God in heaven, especially after it come out about all them priests and those boys. If birth control's the worst sin I have to answer for, I got no worries." "Oh, I'm being rude. Al Donetti, this is Robert Evans. I'm on loan to him to help grease the wheels. He's looking to buy Tamara for a third party. Robert, this is Al Donetti, an old friend." Harry put her leash in his left hand and put out his right, happy to see it wasn't shaking. "Mr. Donetti, a pleasure." Al shook his hand. "Mr. Evans." Al turned to Carol once again. "I'm glad you're here to get her. Phil's tired of her and you know how he gets when he gets bored with a toy." "He hurt her?" "Shit no! You know his old man would have his ass for that. But he's started playing his little games with her. I don't think she's had too many decent meals in the past month. You two go on in, see if you can get her away from him. Good luck." * * * * * Eddy was sipping a beer in their private room, they had gotten the one that looked like a tin shack, when Karen and Patricia were shown in. He'd never seen Patricia before. He gave her the quick once over and he liked what he saw. She was a good six inches taller than Karen, had some meat on her bones, a round face, a wide mouth with obvious smile lines, kind of reminded him of Carol that way. Her blond hair was feathered on the top, hanging down her back and tucked behind her ears. She moved with confidence and the only sign that she was slightly unsure of the situation was her grip on Karen's forearm as they walked in, arm in arm. He stood up. "Well I'll be gawddamned if'n it ain't that clam-lappin' dyke, Karen! I thought by now the right-sized dick woulda come along and changed your whole world view!" "Well I'll be, it's a red-necked, Neanderthalic throwback! I found the right-sized dick. I call it ‘Suzanne', after your mama, and it fits my strap-on just fine. How is your mama, by the way, she still keep your daddy tied up in the yard?" "Nah, she done chased him under the porch, goes out there ever once in awhile an' pokes him with a sharp stick, make sure he's still alive. Speakin' o' mamas, I did say hello to your mama last week, braided her back hair for her, she was real appreciative, treated me like I was her own son. Of course, in your family that meant she fucked me for eight hours, kicked me in the nuts and told me to git on outta there, but what can ya do?" "Yeah, ma, she's a pistol alright, mentions you in all her letters, laughs about that case of the clap she give you. Have you had that checked out?" "No, I'm gonna keep trackin' down your family members and sharin' the love till my dick falls off or I got ‘em all, then I'll worry about a doctor." Karen burst out laughing. "Eddy, how would you know if your dick fell off?" "Oh, gawddamn, I walked right into that one!" "Yeah, you sure did." The two of them went into a three-point stance and then charged at each other like bulls bent on mutual annihilation. They slammed together and Patricia was sure she felt the room shaking. Oil of Roses Ch. 12 Eddy put his hand out and Karen took it. They gripped each others' hands firmly and then began to tighten their grips, veins popping and muscles flexing. The contest went on; one minute… two minutes… sweat was starting to pop out over Eddy's brow… three minutes… finally Eddy said "I give" and relaxed his hand. "Damn woman, you been mainlining steroids?" "No, just living clean and working out…" Her statement was interrupted by Patricia, walking in-between them, spraying little bursts of sandalwood mist. "What in the hell are you doing, Patricia… oh, by the way, I'm sorry, Eddy Janak, Patricia Keller, my partner." "Oh, I'm just trying to cover some of the testosterone so we don't get mobbed by a thousand screaming drunken sorority sluts." The three of them burst into laughter so loud it had the staff checking on them. * * * * * Philip "Fat Phillie" Philouma was, at 5'10" and 530 pounds, morbidly obese. He perpetually reeked of sweat as even in the coldest room he was bound to be sweating somewhere in his multitudinous rolls of flesh. His eyes were buried in his puffy face and they glittered maliciously in their little caves as he stared out at the world with greed and avarice. He had been a cruel and petty boy that grew into a cruel and petty man. His father, Victor Philouma, had always been disappointed in his eldest son. Philip took it for granted that he was to inherit his father's mantle so from a very young age had viewed life as though all things were owed him. Philip's childhood years had been very busy ones for Victor and he felt it one of the greatest failures of his life that he hadn't seen and recognized the burgeoning attitude problems of his eldest son until it was too late to do much about them. After he did recognize them, his wife had had to argue him out of killing Philip more than a few times, finally selling him on the compromise of men loyal to Victor acting as watchdogs and handlers of Phil. She had made Victor swear that he would allow nothing to happen to Philip while there was breath in his body. It was a hard vow to make, but Victor had made it and had lived with it, even after his beloved Ricadonna's death. As Harry and Carol approached the table, Carol recognized Phil's high-pitched whining voice. "I can't believe you pulled a spade flush outta your ass, Tommy! I've had it; I'm takin' a fuckin' break!" "We're in luck," she whispered to Harry. "Yeah, he sounds real happy, we're swimming in luck," Harry muttered back. They came around a support pillar and Philip saw them as he waddled towards the bar in the far corner of the room. "Who are you? What the fuck you doing here?" "Mr. Philouma, I don't know if you remember me, Carol Casetti, I used to visit here with Tony Juliana?" "Oh yeah sure, Tony's little fuck toy. What do ya want?" "I'm here as a favor to a friend. He sent his assistant, Mr. Evans here, to look at Tamara; I told him about her, he thought he might be interested in acquiring her." "Mr. Evans, huh?" Harry stepped forward, extending his right hand. "Yes sir, Mr. Philouma, Robert Evans, pleased to make your acquaintance." Phil looked at him with suspicion tinged with an animal cunning. He slowly extended his sweaty hand. Harry took it and shook it, firmly but briefly. "Mr. Philouma, my employer is very grateful for this moment of your time. He regrets disturbing you but this was the only time that Ms. Casetti could be sure of us meeting. I was instructed to examine this ‘Tamara' and determine if she would suit my employer's needs. If so, I was to see about acquiring her from you, were you amenable to such a transaction." "Who's this employer of yours?" Phil sneered. Harry smiled. "I'm sorry Mr. Philouma; I'm not at liberty to say. My employer is as careful of his privacy as you and your associates are of yours." Harry glanced over at the table and the five men seated there. "I can say, however, that he's a retired businessman living in New Orleans who finally has time to indulge in some of his more esoteric interests… such as young girls with no one to run to and nowhere to go who won't be missed." Phil's eyes lit up with interest. "So if I was to sell her to ya and your employer did his thing, he might tape it?" "He might, Mr. Philouma, he might indeed." "And would he be willing to make a copy of that tape?" Phil's voice lowered. "See, I've got my father's boys making sure I don't have no fun like that." "Something might be arranged." "If it was arranged, I'd be willing to pay. You bring the tape, let me check it out at the club here some Saturday, I like what I see, I'd be willing to pay quite a bit." His voice lowered again, even softer than before. "In fact, if you were to bring me a tape of Tamara getting tortured, then getting dead… I'd be willing to go, oh, five, six grand for a tape like that." Harry forced a smile through the roiling waves of nausea that where coursing through him. "I don't think my employer would be adverse to such a proposition. So I take it I'm to be allowed to examine this Tamara?" "Oh yeah, sure, the little skank's over there in the corner, take all the time you want." "Do you mind if I make a quick call, Mr. Philouma, I'd like to inform my employer of my progress?" "Sure, go ahead." Harry pulled out his cell and dialed Margo's number. "Sir, the seller is amenable. We're about to examine the merchandise. Everyone is being most helpful… I'm sorry about the delay, sir, I ‘m sure you were becoming annoyed. It is taking a little longer than we expected, Ms. Casetti ran into some old friends… Certainly sir." He hung up. "Shall we proceed?" * * * * * "So there we were, Patricia, all of us blind-drunk, staggerin' out of McGonnigle's and these five frat punks take offense at Harry and me stoppin' and pissin' on their car. I don't know what the big deal was; it was a piece-o-shit '99 Firebird Trans Am. Pissin' on it couldn't help but improve it. But they take offense anyway and think they got what it takes to stomp the skinny guy, me and the dyke. Harry gets one of ‘em down and bangs on him a bit, the biggest one pounds on me till I put him to the pavement and I'm wonderin' where the fuck the other three are. Look over and see your sweetie has already put ‘em all on the ground and is pissin' on ‘em. Just pulled down her pants and is gushin' like a fire hose all over these dweebs, all three of ‘em out cold. Then she grabs one of their arms, dries herself on his shirtsleeve, pulls up her pants like it's no big deal and away we go down the street. Ya got a cute ass there Karen." Patricia looked at Karen in astonishment. "You didn't." "Damn sure did," Karen responded. "They were spoiled little rich boys, it was a piece-o-shit Trans Am and nobody whups on Harry and Eddy but me. Don't tell me you never did anything that would raise our eyebrows." "Well, there was this time at church camp…" * * * * * In the corner there knelt a short, thin, almost ethereal woman, pale skin, almost preternaturally large brown eyes, her black hair in pigtails to either side of her slightly diamond-shaped face, wearing a Catholic school girl's uniform. "Tamara… Tammy…" Carol said as she knelt beside her, "do you recognize me? Are you okay?" Her gaze was glassy and she seemed to be floating in a mental fog with no lighthouse anywhere around. "Carol? How are you? It's been a long time. I haven't seen you since Tony's funeral… I'm not sure anymore how long ago that was." "Tammy, this is Mr. Evans, he's here to purchase you." "Hello Tammy… Tammy, look at me. Do you remember the last time you had something to eat?" "Uh… I had some crackers… yesterday… I think. I had a sandwich… today's Saturday because we're here so it would've been Wednesday. I'm pretty sure it was Wednesday. You know Phil, nobody gets fat but him." She made a pitiful, face-cracking grimace that if it had had any humor behind it might have been called a smile. She seemed to be able to focus a little better. "He hasn't been on this kick for too long though. I check myself in the mirror when I go to the powder room. I haven't got that sexy runway model physique that all the girls crave yet." This time the grimace did contain humor and was a smile. "Give him a few more weeks and I'll be there though. Maybe I can get on the cover of Vogue." "He's not getting a few more weeks," Harry said under his breath. He stood up, leaving Carol to see to Tamara and walked over to Phil at the bar. "Mr. Philouma," he said, hiding his rage, "she'll do, although my employer prefers to thin them down himself, so she'll require a little fattening before he can really go to work on her. I'll give you… two hundred for her." Phil's high pitched chuckle had little humor in it. "A most interesting opening offer… since you're going to start low, I'll start high, fifty thousand." "Five hundred." "You roughly double yours, I'll roughly cut mine in half. Twenty-three thousand." "One thousand." "Twelve thousand." "In her present physical condition, I'm not prepared to go over a thousand, Mr. Philouma. But I will sweeten the deal somewhat. I think my employer would be very interested in providing you with some tapes you'd find most stimulating. You take one thousand for her, the tape of her and two other such productions free of charge. The other tapes can be negotiated for when you look at them, see what they contain." "Twelve thousand and her tape plus five others free." "One thousand, her tape and five." "I'm not going below twelve, her tape and five." Harry appeared to consider the offer very carefully. "You appear to be a card-playing man, Mr. Philouma. High card contest. I shuffle. I win, it's a thousand and her tape and five, you win, it's twelve thousand, her tape and five." "No Mr. Evans, you don't shuffle, I shuffle. I win, it's twenty thousand, her tape and five, you win, it's one thousand, her tape and five." "Then we are at an impasse. If I don't shuffle, I don't play. Otherwise your terms are acceptable." "Fine, then you shuffle." Harry walked to the table, following behind Phil. When they got there, Phil plopped his bulk into a loveseat and motioned Harry to a chair. "Excuse us boys, need to borrow a deck of cards, this'll be over soon, I'll be back in the game." He shoved the deck over to Harry and as Harry picked them up, he gave them a quick and subtle once-over. Standard deck, not marked or rigged in any way he could determine. He shuffled clumsily, at one point flipping the deck out over the table, many of the cards landing face up. He gathered them back up with apologies to all and continued to shuffle. Finally he sat them down. "You first, of course, Mr. Philouma." Phil cut and showed the Ten of Hearts to everyone at the table. "My turn then," said Harry. He picked up part of the deck and showed the Queen of Spades around the table. "Now I think I'll pay you what I owe, take the girl and be on my way back to New Orleans." Phil made a motion with his hand. The five players at the table and the two men behind Phil drew their weapons. Harry found himself looking at a collection of .45's. The sound of their hammers being cocked was not music to his ears. "No Mr. Evans, we'll go best two out of three. And I'll shuffle this time." * * * * * Kelly had decided to dress a little daringly for the evening. Given the nature of Chez Bubba's, she'd gone with a bandanna halter that barely contained her and a pair of ragged cut-off jeans that were just a quarter inch of fringe away from being indecent. The thong she was wearing nearly matched her skin tone so the illusion was compelling. With her hair in a do-rag and her feet in a pair of scuffed square-toe cowboy boots she strolled in to the restaurant and was shown to their room. She heard the eyeballs clacking as they swung to follow her as she pranced through the dining room. It was a good way to start the night. When she was shown into the room, she saw Eddy and a woman she assumed was Karen, arm wrestling on the table, lit candles burning in either of their take-down positions. Eddy almost lost when he briefly glanced over to see who was coming in. He recovered quickly though, then it was Karen's turn to be distracted, with much the same result. Patricia leaned over her shoulder whispering "Down girl". She came up behind Eddy, rested her tits on his shoulder and leaned over, smiling. "Hi, y'all must be Karen and Patricia. I'm Kelly, Eddy's illegitimate daughter." She bent down and licked his ear. "Hi Daddy" she breathed into it. "Gawddamn it Kelly," Eddy exploded, "don't do that!" "Oh, alright. Hi Karen, Patricia, I'm Kelly, the dominatrix that's been bending Eddy to her will. Now Eddy, beat this woman or I won't let you lick my ass tonight." Karen was about to lose it, choking back fall-on-the-floor laughter by sheer force of will. Patricia had given up the fight and was holding her sides, laughing almost silently, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Kelly," Eddy said through gritted teeth, "I don't think licking is what I had in mind where your ass is concerned… it rhymes with ‘licking' but it starts with a ‘k'." She threw her arms around his broad chest and circled his nipples with her fingertips. "Eddy, are you sure it doesn't rhyme with ‘missing' and start with a ‘k'?" "Pretty gawddamn sure." "Okay," she said as her hands went down to his sides, "as long as you're sure." And she started tickling him. * * * * * The silence stretched on for several year-long seconds before Harry found himself able to speak. "Why Mr. Philouma, I do believe you're trying to alter the terms of our deal," Harry said, fighting to keep his voice steady. "I believe so too," came an elderly but still vibrant voice from the door. In his peripheral vision Harry caught someone entering in a motorized wheelchair but couldn't make out much more as he was far more concerned with the handguns in his immediate vicinity. He heard Carol squeal "VIC!" and glimpsed her running toward the figure in the chair. He kept very still and watched Phil, painfully aware of the unwavering barrels of the guns pointed in his direction. "What was the deal they agreed to?" Victor Philouma asked one of his men, standing behind Phil. "If Evans won, he paid Phil a grand and some other considerations at a later time and take possession of Tammy today." "Pay my son his money, Mr. Evans, then Philip, you and the boys get out of here." "But he cheated!" Phil whined. "If everyone you accused of cheating was guilty, our family and friends would be the biggest group of card sharps in existence. Truth is, Philip, you suck at cards just like you suck at almost everything. Now take your money and get out." Harry reached into a pocket and brought on a sheaf of bills, put it on the table, and stood up. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Philouma," Harry said, offering his hand. "I believe I'll be taking my employer's property and going now." Phil ignored the hand, took the bundle of cash and tried to stalk out as best he could while waddling. The rest of the men at and around the table followed. "I don't think you'll be leaving just yet, Mr. Evans," said Victor Philouma, head of the Philouma crime syndicate. * * * * * In the ensuing free-for-all everyone avoided getting burned, no one got beaten or kicked, Kelly narrowly avoided a spanking, and proper introductions were made. Another round of drinks was ordered and while Kelly and Patricia watched, Eddy and Karen went at it once again in arm-wrestling. Patricia leaned over to Kelly. "So, I've sort of gotten the Harry, Carol & Margo story, where do you fit in to all this, if you don't mind me asking?" "Patricia, I never mind questions… I mind people who expect answers." She smiled. "It's a simple story. Delivery driver for Chinese restaurant shows up with order, is seduced by older couples' sex toy, continues to come back and play with them because she likes them, feels safe with them, is even starting to have deeper feelings for them, meets their friends, likes them too, plays with some of them, that big hunk o' man over there for example." "I heard that," Eddy said. "I meant you to, still feels safe after playing with him, as incredible as that may seem. She looked at Karen, struggling mightily against Eddy, then at Patricia and slowly and sensuously licked her lips. "Wouldn't mind playing with more of their friends." Patricia smiled. "Sorry Kelly, you're a lovely girl and imminently do-able, but we're monogamous." "Yeah," Karen added, "I've got some severe jealousy issues I need to work on and Patricia just feels safer in a monogamous relationship. But I guarantee you, we ever change our minds and we'll invite you over to be dinner." "Don't you mean ‘for' dinner," Kelly asked, eyes sparkling. "You heard what I said," Karen responded, finally forcing Eddy's hand down to the candle. "OW! Gawddamnit you steroid-abusin' dyke Amazon! Have you ever once considered how I feel about losing to a woman?" He buried his face in his hands, great heaving fake sobs coming from within. "I feel so… much… less… a… man… now." Once again the laughter was so loud the staff felt obliged to check and see if everything was alright. * * * * * Carol came over, Victor in his chair behind her. She pushed him toward a chair. "Relax, it's alright, sir. Sit down." Victor's chair rolled up to him. She spoke softly. "Sir, this is Victor Philouma. Vic, this is Harry Grimes, my new man." Harry put out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Philouma." The old man took it, shook it. He might be in a chair but his grip was still hard and firm. "Well kid, he's a damn sight prettier than Tony was. He good to you?" "Vic, I'm taking his name of my own free will. I love him more than I've ever loved anyone." "That's good… you two running a number on my fat moron of a son?" "Yes Vic. We're getting Tamara out of here." "And you, Mr. Grimes, you cheated at cards in front of my son, six of his boys and two of mine. My boys spotted you putting a crimp on that queen just like I did, watching from the security room. That's why the boys were going to let him shoot you. You're guilty. The only reasons you're still living is I like it when people put one over on that sweaty dumbshit and because of little Carol here" "I didn't have his minimum number and I couldn't get him down into what I did have available to me." "You risked getting your head blown off for a girl you just met tonight?" "Is that so hard to believe? Your son was going to slowly starve her to death. What else could I do?" "You're not a cop, are you?" "No sir, I'm in advertising." "Thank God, cops with your kind of balls I don't need. I'd have to kill a cop like you to stop a cop like you. Very bad for business in the long run. You've got what you came for; you can go in a minute. "Carol, Tony left you something in his will. I never questioned why you disappeared so fast after the funeral. I know my eldest; I know what he was looking to do with you. But it meant you weren't there for the reading of Tony's will. I had what he left you boxed up and put in storage in a climate-controlled space on the south side. You give me an address, I'll have it delivered." He read the worry on her face. "Don't worry, none of Phil's boys will know about it." "But what about after you're gone, Vic? They'll all be Phil's boys then." Oil of Roses Ch. 12 "The hell they will. Those two boys that watch Phil? Well, let's just say that his lifespan and mine are intimately connected. He'll be going out minutes after I do and the boys will be on their way out of the country for an extended vacation to keep ‘em away from the police before his fat body gets cold. Niccolo will take over the family business. I've been training him for it for years, telling Phil it's just training him to be his consigliore. But Nick, he knows the truth and knows a lot of things Phil ain't never bothered to learn. "You made my childhood friend Tony Juliana's last couple of years the best they could have been. You stayed by him when he got sick, you sat with him when no one could see him for all the tubes and shit, they couldn't pry you out of that hospital with a crowbar, you held his hand when he died and you kissed him goodbye." Vic's gruff voice was breaking just a bit but only a fool would have commented on it or the moisture in his eyes. "You were better to him than his wife. You were there for him when his own fucking children wouldn't come and see their old man off." He handed her a card with a number on it. "You ever need anything, you call that number. They'll put you through to either me or to Niccolo when I'm gone. He knows about this debt and has agreed to honor it. Tony Juliana was his godfather and treated him like a nephew. Nick always called him Uncle Tony and even if I didn't insist, this debt he would honor. Now give me an address to have his bequest to you delivered to." Carol wrote out Harry's address on a slip of paper Harry found in his pocket and gave it to the old man. "I don't think we'll meet again this side of the grave, little Carol. And I don't think we'll meet on the other side either. I expect you to be in a far nicer place than me. I've never understood why your brain works the way it does, why you need this ‘owning' thing, but it makes you happy and that's all that's important. You treat her good, Mr. Grimes, not because I said you had to, but because she's a good girl and deserves it." "Mr. Philouma, she's one of the two most wonderful things to ever happen to me and the second wouldn't have happened if she hadn't happened first. She is incredibly precious to me. Please don't worry that I'll ever mistreat her." "I don't Mr. Grimes, although I do worry that you'll do something stupid someday and leave her all alone. Risking your life for a girl you just met…" The old man turned and rolled towards the door. Carol ran up and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodbye Vic." "Goodbye kid." Harry went to the corner to collect Tamara and he and Carol guided her towards the door. As they walked down the corridor to the entrance, Harry murmured "Carol Casetti?" "Yeah, Carol Casetti," she whispered, "did you think Tony would bring a cute little Irish girl in a place like this?" * * * * * Margo was almost beside herself with worry. This had gone on way too long but she didn't dare leave, not after the phone call from Harry. She couldn't call the cops. She was about to say to hell with it and call Eddy when she saw the door to the club open and Harry, Carol and a girl she assumed was Tamara came out. Harry was half-carrying the girl who looked like a Japanese businessman's wet dream in her schoolgirl outfit. They hurried down the sidewalk and Harry gently helped Tamara into the back seat where Carol followed her. He got in front with Margo. "Harry Grimes if you ever scare me like this again on our engagement day, wedding day, whatever damn day it is, I'm going to strap you down and use that cat o' nine on you till you bleed!" Harry slumped in his seat, the tension of the last half hour finally taking its toll on him. "Deal. If I ever do this again, you can beat me to death for all I care," he said as Margo pulled into the street and they drove away. Carol leaned up from the back seat. "Margo, love, Harry was stupidly brave but for a very good cause so be gentle with him." "Why, what happened?" "He almost got shot… repeatedly… in the head." "WHAT?" The car skidded to a halt by the side of the road. "HARRY WHAT THE FUCK-" Harry grabbed her and held her, smothering her cries of outrage against his shoulder. "Margo, Margo, look at the woman in the back seat. Look at her." Margo slowly turned her head to look closely at Tamara, her physician's eye taking in her condition. "The fat fuck was going to starve her to death. What was I supposed to do?" Margo looked at him, seeing the look in his eyes for the first time since he'd returned. Harry was shaking and had a haunted look in his eye. He'd gotten kissed by his mortality and it had terrified him. "If I was going to close this deal with that fat tub of lard it had to be today. Next week and it would've been a whole new round of games and conditions and price increases. I didn't have enough on me to meet his price and I couldn't exactly write him a check, so I played ‘Cut For High Card' and cheated and won. He was ready to kill me because he thinks everybody cheats him and he's so stupid he may be right. I know he didn't catch me because he didn't kill me right off. Luckily his old man came in and saved the day. He's a nice guy for a mobster, Carol." "No he isn't Harry; he's a piece of shit." "What?" "Harry, he would've sat there and watched Phil starve Tammy to death because he didn't give a shit enough to stop him. He wouldn't let Phil beat her, because that would show and people might talk but he'd let him starve her to death. I won't get rid of his card. Someday we may need his or Niccolo's kind of help and I've never been too proud to worry about where a life preserver is coming from when I'm drowning, but he's not a nice guy. He's a murderer and can be one of the most cold-blooded sons-of-bitches I've ever seen. When he dies I won't be shedding tears at his funeral like I did at Tony's." Harry turned to Margo. "My love, you'll get the full story at some point tonight, probably at the restaurant after Carol and I get a few drinks in us. For now, we're all alive and in reasonably good shape, you can take an initial look at Tamara physically when we get there. But first, can we please get there?" Margo kissed him, put the car in gear and they set out again toward Chez Bubba's. In the back seat, Carol helped Tamara change clothes into some she had brought with her from the house. They weren't a perfect fit, but they were close enough to look presentable. While Tamara was changing, Carol was looking for signs of physical abuse. "Margo, I see some bruising, looks like where she's been grabbed but that's it, I'm not seeing any signs of beatings." "Now Tammy," Carol said, "we bought you but we didn't buy you for us. We bought you for a man named Eddy and I think you and he will get along very well. He needs someone like you and you need someone like him and eventually we want to tell him everything but right at the beginning, we don't want him to know we bought you for him or he might start thinking that the only way a woman could care for him was if she was paid for or some silly shit like that. So, at the beginning, we just bought you to get you away from Phil, that's the only reason, got it?" Tamara nodded her head. "Good, now let's get your hair out of those pigtails and brushed out." They were only an hour late when they pulled into the parking lot of Chez Bubba's. Oil of Roses Ch. 13 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * Between Harry on one side of her and Margo on the other, they managed to get Tamara into the restaurant and back to the room without anyone noticing how weak she was. While Carol went to tell Karen, Patricia and Kelly the edited version of the story, Harry pulled Eddy to one side and Margo checked Tamara over. "Eddy, that girl over there, her name's Tamara, I don't know her last name and we just paid a thousand dollars to buy her from Phil Philouma. You know who he is, I'm sure." "Yeah, I know who he is." "He wasn't real happy about the transaction and I'm afraid to keep her at my place, I need to stash her for awhile until I'm sure things have blown over. She's going to need constant care, for the first week or so at least, and I know it's a lot to ask, but could you…" "Say no more, Harry, I got more than enough time off built up, my boss has been tryin' to get me to take some of it for awhile now. She'll be safe with me, I'll see to her." "Good… now, she needs to be owned, even more so than Carol, with Tamara it's 'need with a capital N', so we're going to give her to you and you'll accept her and then it'll be all kosher in her headspace. Got it?" "Yeah, I got it, Harry." "How are you fixed for cash because I'm more than willing to pay for her upkeep…" "Shut up, Harry, I've got more money than I know what to do with. You'll probably need all your cash right now anyway, what with you and the ladies having to live elsewhere for a bit." "What?" "Harry, if it isn't safe for her to be at your place I kinda doubt it's safe for you to be at your place either." Harry was caught in a web of his own spinning. "Shit, you're right. I've been so worried about her I completely missed that. Eddy, do you know anybody you'd trust to house-sit our place, twenty-four-seven, let the workmen in, that kind of thing, make sure it doesn't get trashed by Philouma's boys?" "Yeah Harry, two of the boys that work with me, if I'm taking time off, so are they. They'll keep an eye on the place. We get you home tonight, you write out all the instructions you can think of, we'll get you and the girls packed up and out of there for a week or so, they'll be there tonight before you leave so you can meet them." Margo came over, half carrying Tamara. "Harry, Eddy, that asshole hadn't been starving her long enough to do serious damage. I'd say she's alright to eat semi-solid foods tonight, Bubba's Mashed Taters would probably be a great choice, but I'd keep her away from solids for another day or two. Think soups, broths, fruit juices. By Tuesday she should be fine to eat pretty much whatever she wants." "Tamara, I bought you," Harry said to the girl, "and now I'm making a gift of you to this man, Eddy. He owns you now." "Yes sir, I understand." She walked towards Eddy and hesitated, just a second, and before anyone could have registered what they were seeing the large man had gone to her, scooped her up in his arms and was back in his chair with her on his lap. She almost looked like a child as he cradled her, speaking to her in a low, soft, gentle voice. Harry gathered Margo and Carol and told them about the necessity of covering his lie to Eddy and then went over to say hello to the rest of the crew. "Patricia, it's great to see you again." Karen stood up and hugged him hard. "Ouch… Sappho… ribs… breaking… vision… going… dark." She broke the hug. "Harry, you picked a really good reason to be late to supper. If you were a girl…" "You still wouldn't fuck me because you and Patricia are soooo traditional," he finished, grinning widely. Karen hugged him and whispered in his ear, "If you were a girl, I never would have met Patricia, we'd be Karen and Harriet." Harry smiled, hugged Karen back and reflected that there were worse alternate realities to contemplate. Kelly came and gave him a hug. "Arthur, why do I think you're pulling a fast one on Eddy and the rest of us?" she asked him quietly as they embraced. "Because I am," he replied, kissing her ear. As everyone settled into their chairs and the newcomers ordered their well-deserved drinks it was impossible for anyone to avoid noticing that Eddy and Tamara were in their own world. She was curled up in his lap as he stroked her hair and murmured softly to her something only they could hear. Margo snagged the waiter before he left. "I need an order of Bubba's Mashed Taters and a bowl of Granny's Chicken Soup for the young lady there. Make sure they get here as soon as possible." She handed him a twenty. "They'll be right here ma'am." Elsewhere at the table, Kelly had sat beside Carol. "I know that when you're in control you call me 'Princess', but what should I call you when you're in control," she licked her lips, "or when I want you to be in control?" Carol thrust a hand into Kelly's halter, grasping her breast and caressed it firmly. Her other hand snaked up into Kelly's hair, gripped it hard and pulled her head back; Carol put teeth to her neck for a bite that had Kelly gasping with pleasure. "Oh, 'Mistress' will be perfectly acceptable, Princess," she growled. She pulled Kelly onto her, sitting her a-straddle her blue-jeaned leg while she continued to stoke her breast, lick and bite her neck. Kelly leaned her body down and ground her cunt on to Carol's leg, back and forth, a wet spot beginning to form in her shorts. Karen leaned over to Harry. "Jesus Christ! Are they always like this?" "Pretty incendiary, aren't they?" Harry said with a smile. "The two of them with each other would have the President grabbing for an intern and fucking her on national TV in the middle of the State of the Union address." "I thought you said Carol was submissive. That ain't no brand of submissive I ever saw." "There's something about Kelly that brings her dominant side out with a bang. Was that way the very first time she saw her. She gave me a look that I thought meant 'can I play with her?' I said yes. Turns out it meant 'can I take her and make her mine?. Small error in translation. And they don't play this way all the time, most of the time there's no dom or sub between them. I better stop them before we end up either having to buy off the staff or get thrown out. "Little Cunt! Stop it right now! The time for play is later!" "Mistress please, I'm sooo cloooose, don't leave me this way," Kelly begged. "Sir… I… Princess…" she put her mouth to Kelly's ear, "come for me, Princess, right now!" "Ummmm hmmmmm!" Kelly rocked back and forth on Carol's leg as her orgasm ripped through her. As Carol held up Kelly's slumping body to her breast, she looked at Harry. "I'm sorry, sir," she said, dejectedly. Harry was about to forgive her when Margo briefly laid her hand upon his mouth as she walked by on her way to Carol. She reached down between the two girls, gently stroking Carol's denim-clad pussy while she spoke softly to her. Harry caught only Carol's answering "Yes Madam" and the grateful smile on Carol's face. Margo stood up and walked back to sit beside him. Harry looked at her and asked, "So, if it's any of my business, what did you just tell her?" Margo looked at him, and noticed Karen and Patricia leaning in to hear as well. She shrugged. "I told her that you were far too easy on her and I knew that she enjoyed being punished so for that little act of disobedience we were going to oblige her. Later tonight you're going to slowly spank her while she eats me. As soon as I come, the spanking stops. It doesn't stop before then. She liked the idea a lot. Then I told her that since I knew she'd been caught between obedience to you and responsibility to her own toy, even though that was no excuse for her failure to stop immediately, that you'd give her a nice ass-fucking when the spanking was done, while of course she continued to eat me." There was a soft whimper from somewhere nearby and Harry wasn't sure but he thought it came from Patricia. He looked at Margo with a touch of surprise. "If I didn't know better my love, I'd say you had a dominant streak in you." "Harry, you don't know better. After years of feeling I had to serve, I had to be the one to make people happy, make sure everyone had what they wanted. Thanks to you two I'm now safe and in a place where I can be in charge when I feel like it. I don't want to be there all the time, mind you, but being there sometimes?" She took his hand and moved it towards her crotch through the slit on her skirt. Before he was even there he felt the heat and dampness. "It's a turn-on, Harry." She leaned in and murmured in his ear. "And that being completely restrained and at someone else's mercy fantasy of yours? Carol told me about it. Whenever you're ready you just let Madam Margo and your Baby Girl take care of that for you… Princess too, if you'd like." Harry didn't know his cock could get that hard that fast. * * * * * Cuddled in the arms of this giant of a man Tamara felt safer and more secure than she had in years. First thing, right off the bat, she'd told him something almost no one else knew. "Tamara is a very pretty name. What's the rest of your name?" "Well sir, I call myself Tamara Oleander, but really my last name's Osowski. Tamara Theresa Osowski." "Alright, I'm Eddy, uh, Edward John Janak. What do you like to be called, do you like Tamara or Tammy or would you rather I call you Theresa?" "It would make me very happy if you would call me Theresa, sir… everyone else calls me Tamara or Tammy. May I please call you Edward? 'Eddy' is a little too familiar for me." "That would be fine, whatever you're comfortable with." "I'm very comfortable with you, sir." Eddy felt his heart give a little lurch. That was not good. He had no business having any heart lurching where this girl was concerned. Theresa looked into Edward's pale green eyes and wondered how hard it was going to be for him to accept that she was his for good, if he'd have her. As his huge hand stroked her hair, she thought that it probably wouldn't be that hard for him to accept, but it would take a little time before he was ready to know the truth. That was okay with her. She snuggled in closer to his chest, smelling him all around her, a touch of sweat, a whiff of beer, soap, shampoo… and a growing sense, not really a smell, just a sense, of desire. "Now Theresa, when I take you home with me tonight, I'm apologizin' in advance for my place. It's a mess. I been livin' alone since my last divorce and I'm a slob…" "Stop right there, sir. It may be a mess now; it won't be when I'm through with it. I may have to take it a little more slowly than I normally would, but I'll soon set it right. "You don't have to do that…" "But Edward, I do have to do that. I have to! For me. For me to feel right about you taking care of me I have to and I don't mind, I like keeping house." "And there's only one bed so I'll sleep on the couch…" "Please Edward, don't do that. If I'm not worthy to share the bed with you I can sleep on the couch or the floor, anywhere. I slept… I lived in a closet when I belonged to Phil, two foot by three foot. Anything larger and more luxurious than a closet is me moving onto Boardwalk or Park Place." "Well it's not a matter of me letting you share the bed, I don't got no problem with that it's just I didn't know if you wanted to sleep with a monster in the same bed with a man you hardly know." "Edward, sir, I'm your property, I'll sleep where I'm told to sleep. But if I had my preferences it would be with you or very near you." She shuddered. "I don't think I'd feel safe too far away from you." "Well then of course you'll sleep with me, Theresa, because you feeling safe is one of our primary concerns." * * * * * Everyone talked for awhile. Harry noticed Margo on the phone and briefly wondered if there was something wrong. When she began smiling he knew better. It was good to relax after the stress of earlier events. Tamara's food and everyone's drinks arrived and Harry felt it the appropriate moment to make their big announcement so he tapped the side of his drink with a fork until he had everyone's attention. "Friends and loved ones, today before we left the house, two very important matters were settled. "Margo announced that she was home to stay and she agreed to marry me as soon as our divorces are final." He would have said more but Kelly and Patricia were mobbing Margo. Karen and Eddy, with Tamara held with one arm, riding his hip like a baby, clustered around him, hugs, kisses, handshakes and backslaps and then the congratulatory groups changed targets. Through it all Carol sat to the left of and just behind Margo, beaming her happiness. Soon the two people she loved most in the world would be wed, the house would be finished, all would be right with her world. Eddy and Tamara returned to his seat and Eddy began to feed Tamara small spoonfuls of food, checking to see how she was after every mouthful. For her own part, Tamara was eating very slowly. She didn't want to embarrass Edward by getting sick or somehow otherwise spoiling this night of celebration. The other celebrants sat down, worked on finishing their drinks and considered their own supper orders. "Karen, what do we have going this next week?" Harry asked. "Nothing much… just interviews for a new executive director for the company, little thing like that, nothing you need to worry about." "Holy shit, that's right. Okay, that means we hang around town while we're hiding out, otherwise I felt Chicago calling our names. Ladies, name your hotel." Margo smiled at him. "Harry, we're already booked for a week at the Omni in their Presidential Suite. I'm picking up the tab. We have an indefinite option to extend if we need to." "How the hell did you manage that in the summer during tourist season?" "Money, Harry, they tell me it makes the world go around. Plus I did a face-lift, a boob job and a butt tuck on the manager's wife. As much as I hated it, the cosmetic surgery line was good for making contacts. You know, for that reason alone, it might be worth keeping my hand in… say, one day a week." Their food orders where taken as was the order for another round for everyone. * * * * * Eddy held Theresa in his arms. She had pushed away a spoonful of sinfully delicious mashed potatoes. "You full, little one?" he asked. "I think so, Edward, sir. At least I am for right now. I'm sure if I get hungry later, I can find something else to eat." "Yeah, you get hungry we'll find you somethin' to eat. You wanna go join in the fun or would you rather sit here, just the two of us?" "If you don't mind, sir, I'd like to just sit here for a bit. I'm sorry that I'm keeping you from your party." "Don't you worry about it. You've been through some tough times and you're not up to snuff so we'll just take it easy." "Sir, I can sit in a chair if holding me is bothering you or if I'm getting too heavy." He looked down at her and for a moment she found herself in awe of the tenderness she saw shining through his eyes. She was even scared of it. "If you want to sit in a chair, just say so Theresa, but you don't hardly weigh nothin' and holdin' you is no problem at all. I'm fine with you right where you are." She snuggled up closer to him and sighed. "Then sir, I'm fine right where I am." "How old are you, Theresa?" "Twenty-five, sir… I know I don't look it but my birth certificate doesn't lie. Of course, I'll have to get another copy of that and another I.D. now. All that got left with Phil." "Well we'll go get it back." "No sir, please. Nothing in my pitiful pile of crap is worth anyone even risking getting hurt for. It's not worth it. A new birth certificate and I.D. is really not expensive at all. Messing with Phil Philouma could cost you everything. Please sir, no." "Alright, I see your point. Even I ain't crazy enough to want to fuck with 'Fat Phillie' and his boys, much less with his old man." "Alright then, it's settled, sir." She cuddled back in and tucked her head under his chin. She liked the feel and the smell of this giant of a man. She liked Edward. She liked Edward a lot. * * * * * Their orders arrived and everyone dug in. The food at Chez Bubba's was far too good to waste valuable eating time with anything as unimportant as talk. Everyone finished and slowly pushed themselves away from the tables to sit and wonder if there was any possible room for dessert. In almost every case the answer was "no way in Hell". In Patricia's case it was "maybe but I'd probably better not". Eddy and Tamara had joined the party, although she was still shyly staying almost hidden in the shadow of Eddy's arms as the friends and lovers talked and visited, letting their food digest and drinking their after-dinner coffee. Harry looked at Karen and Patricia. "You two got anything planned for tomorrow?" They looked at each other. "No," Karen answered, "nothing comes to mind." "Fine, you're having a post-hangover brunch with us at the hotel. I hear they put on a hell of a spread for Sunday brunch. So are you, Eddy, Tamara." "Harry, other than the pleasure of your hung-over company, which is negligible at best, why would we want to drive all the way to downtown for brunch tomorrow?" Karen asked. "Who said anything about you driving in? I'm thinking Margo the Wonder Arranger gets hold of her friend the manager, books us two more rooms, one for you two and one for Eddy and Tamara, and we go mount an assault on the Omni's bar. We close the place down, sleep late in the morning, get up, meet for brunch, the four of you go your merry way and the four of us spend our Sunday in sexual debauchery and hedonistic excess." Kelly leaned on the table, her tits about to spill out of her halter. "Damn Harry, I like the way you think." "Me too," added Carol. Margo scooted herself and her chair close to him, threw a leg over his hips and began to chew on his neck. "I take it Mrs. Wohler-Grimes approves?" he asked. "Oh fuck that hyphen shit," she answered, "your present and future wife loves the idea." She broke off attacking him, looked at their friends. "You've got to say yes. If you don't I'll never invite you over to use the pool and hot tub, once they're installed." Oil of Roses Ch. 13 Karen and Patricia looked at each other. "We're in," said Patricia. Eddy and Tamara spoke quietly with each other. "She's awfully weak still, but we're in till we're not and then we'll bid you fine folks good night." "Fair enough, beloved wench, make the calls." "Yes my lord," responded Margo. "Carol and I will go pack up at the house, leave instructions and talk to Eddy's boys while all of you get to the hotel and settle in. Margo my sweet, is there anything special we need to pick up at the house for you?" "Nothing that I haven't already spoken with our pet about." So Harry paid their bill and he and Carol headed for the house while everyone else descended on the Emily Morgan. * * * * * As Harry and Carol drove towards the house, he rested his hand on hers. "Baby Girl, I'm thinking you and I are due a minor nervous breakdown some day soon." "Yes sir, I know what you mean… between dealing with Angie and the scene with Phil, I'd really appreciate some time with no strong negative emotions for awhile." "Yeah… I've got a lot of shit in my head about that night with Angie that I'm slowly working through… most of it I keep pushed into a corner so I'm not the Amazing Depression Man. What I did to her really makes me… uncomfortable… with myself." "I think I may have some of the same feelings, Harry but I don't regret the physical and emotional abuse I put her through… I don't regret that at all. She earned every last bit of it. "But there was a time there Harry when I wasn't sure I wasn't going to kill her. That's been scaring the hell out of me. I never hated even Rick that much. But there I was, right in front of her and it would have been so easy to do it, Harry. And I wanted to. I wanted to end her pathetic shit right there. Then I wanted to come find you and hold you and fuck you and tell you Mommy had made sure that bitch would never hurt you again." Tears were rolling down her cheeks. "Don't get me wrong, Harry. I don't regret feeling that way about her or why I feel that way. I just can't stand the way hating someone that much makes me feel inside. Like there's a place in me that's gone black and cold and dead. A part of me that should've felt something besides disgust when she was pleading for her life… it's like there's a part of me that's no longer human." "Have I told you lately how much I love you?" he asked her. "No, sir." He pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned to face her. "I love you so much that even if somehow Margo and I were together without you being involved, my life wouldn't be complete, because you wouldn't be there. I love you so much that if I look at you too long I start to cry because I'm so happy. I love you so much that my biggest fear when we were in Campisi's and all those guns were pointed at me was that you wouldn't be safe. "I love you so much I finally understand what my father did." Carol looked at him. "Excuse me Harry, what?" "Time for some Grimes family history. My mother got sick, breast cancer, which, by the time they caught it, had metastasized all through her. It was inoperable and the chemo and radiation weren't doing much to halt the spread. She got worse as did the pain. The amount of morphine she was taking kept going up. She was miserable and so was Dad. It was a very bad time for all of us. "She never got out of the house except to go to treatments and that hardly qualified as a pleasurable outing, so he started taking her for rides on Sunday afternoons. They'd drive around and she'd sleep through most of it sometimes, other times she'd actually be able to stay awake and enjoy it. "One Sunday afternoon in April it had been raining and Dad lost control of the car on a bridge and went over the side. It was five hours before the Sheriff's Department got the car out of there." Harry's voice was breaking, tears welling up in his eyes. "Accidental death, insurance paid off, everything's copacetic… tragic, but copacetic. What no one else knew, what no one to this day knows except me, is what was in a letter I got from my father. It had been mailed the Saturday before the accident. "He said he'd talked to Mom and it wasn't that she didn't love him or Nicki and me, but she was tired and she wanted the pain to end and she wanted to go home… and that he couldn't see letting her find her way home without him… so he figured he'd go along with her… that way even if they got lost, they'd still have each other. "I never really understood what he did until you became a part of my life." Harry broke down completely and the two of them hugged awkwardly in the front seat until Harry was calm again. "Whatever we have to deal with, whatever issues need to be resolved, you and I and Margo and probably Kelly as well can handle them, and support each other through them and in the end, it'll be okay," he said. "Okay sir," she said, kissing his hand, "I think we're all going to be fine. But I think you and I need a stiff drink. For that to happen, we need to be at the Omni, so let's get home and get packed and get to the hotel." Harry put the car back in gear and they pulled out into traffic. * * * * * When they arrived there was a battered old truck out front with two young men in it. They got out and waited for Harry to approach them. They were almost twins, from their muscular builds to the short, blond mullets atop their heads. "You Eddy's friends?" he asked as he walked up. "Yes sir," answered one of them, "my name's Perry, this is Bevy. Eddy told us you needed somebody to watch your place, water the plants, keep arsonists away, repel airborne assaults, protect your secret vault where you stashed the proof that Johnny Carson killed Kennedy in Dallas. Now, I got to tell ya, anything special like defendin' the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant against attacks by Martian zombies or shit like vampires we got to acquire victims for… it's gonna run ya extra." "Does Eddy know you're certifiably insane?" "Yessir, says that's why he likes workin' with us." Harry and Carol were laughing as they led the men into the house. * * * * * An hour later, with help from Perry and Bevy, the car was loaded, and a detailed list of instructions along with a check for Anna and their cell phone numbers was left with them. The guys had unloaded their stuff from the truck and set up camp in the living room. Bevy was hard at work on something on a laptop. "He doesn't talk much, does he." stated Harry. "Nosir, only time he says much of anything is when someone makes fun of his name, what he says then you mostly don't never wanna hear." "What's he working on, if I might ask?" "Oh, he's doin' the final colorin' and shadin' on the next episode of our web comic." "Dare I ask?" "Yessir, It's called 'Dinosaur Ho', about the adventures of a flight attendant for American named Candy who becomes unstuck in time and ends up in the Cretaceous period where she discovers that there was a civilization of intelligent dinosaurs, most closely resemblin' the Acrocanthosaurus. They had actually achieved a level of scientific achievement superior to our present technological level. Well, she ends up becomin' a freak attraction in one of their brothels and develops a taste for it, a condition which makes her rescue by a group of time-traveling do-gooders a bit problematical. So she's trying to escape the clutches of her rescuers so she can return to her tawdry life of sin and degradation and convince a young 'saur from their Ministry of Technology named Risstalthaaak'kark that has fallen in love with her that it's their experiments with moving asteroids into orbit to facilitate minin' them for mineral resources that's gonna end up accidentally wipin' out their whole civilization. "We've won the Web Cartoonists Choice Awards Outstanding Comic Award for the last three years running." Harry walked away, shaking his head. * * * * * It was 11 PM by the time they hit the hotel. Courtesy of a bellman and two carts the car was unloaded and they were off-loaded in the suite, and back down in the bar by 11:15. A valet had parked the car, The bartender told him that his crew had taken over one entire corner of the bar. Harry began to suspect something though when he noticed that the lights were completely off in that section. There was some minimal ambient light from candles but otherwise it was very dim. As they passed the velvet ropes that were blocking the section off, Harry noticed that there was very little sound coming from the cave-like interior, just the burbling of a small waterfall in the corner and the low murmur of Eddy and Tamara conversing with each other. They were, in fact, the first two that Harry came upon, Tamara still in Eddy's lap as the big man continued to cradle her. Harry leaned down next to them. "Hey Eddy, how's it going?" "Just fine Harry. Ther- Tamara and I have just been talking." "What's everyone else up to?" "Harry, you're not going to get me to answer that question no matter what you do… did you meet Perry and Bevy?" "Uh, yeah… you've got some… interesting… people working with you." "They're about the strangest of my crew but I'd trust them with my life. You go on, get comfy, get something to drink." Harry and Carol moved into the darkened corner. They came across Karen and Patricia, sitting on the floor, making out like a pair of teenagers. From what Harry could tell, it looked like Karen had just made it to third base. On the table behind them were two large empty Margarita glasses. The new arrivals quietly skirted the two and walked further in. They found Margo leaning back in a chair, eyes closed, her feet spread wide, braced low against a wall. Under the edge of her long denim skirt, they saw Kelly's legs as she knelt between Margo's thighs. Harry crept up to her and suddenly kissed her, putting his hand on her breast. She kissed him back and the kiss became long and sensual, only slightly interrupted by a small orgasm running through her. "Hello my love," she said when they were through, "I'm so glad you made it back. Carol, I really hope you don't mind that I'm making use of Princess." Carol knelt beside her. "No Madam, what's mine is of course yours to do with what you will." "Funny," Margo said, smiling, "that was the way Princess was looking at it too when she started humping my leg." "I shall punish her for annoying you, Madam." "Please don't, I think she's being punished quite sufficiently. If you need a drink, simply say 'time for another round' and start waving a candle back and forth. We'll have a waitress over here very quickly. But do make sure you announce your intentions, darlings, to give everyone a chance to get decent." Harry called out "Time for another round" and watched as Margo simply put her feet lower on the wall, covering more of the evidence of Kelly's presence. Before Harry picked up a candle to signal the waitress, he knelt and looked underneath the voluminous skirt. Kelly was on her knees, her halter down around her waist. Her face was buried between Margo's thighs and her hands were clutching at her own breasts. He gently tapped her on the shoulder. "Would you like something to drink, Princess?" "A mojito sir, if you please." "One mojito, coming up." As he waved a candle back and forth he turned to Margo. "Going to let her out any day soon?" "Going to… ummm… have to. Getting a little too sensitive for comfort. Besides, someone has plans for you tonight. Princess, come out from under there. You're through for now. "Kelly, go give Harry a kiss." Kelly came out from under Margo's skirts. Her halter was still around her waist as she kissed Harry hello with a kiss that left no doubt whatsoever as to her intentions. Harry tasted his wife all over Kelly's face, like a delicate, fragrant sauce. Then she went and gave Carol the same kind of hello. As she was doing so their waitress, a young woman with dark hair, a pleasantly plump figure and a pretty, smiling face came up. "Your last waitress went off duty. My mother's the bar manager and she said I should take very good care of you as you were in the Presidential Suite for a week. My name is Jessica, how may I help you?" Karen and Patricia ordered margaritas, Eddy ordered water and an orange juice, Margo wanted a Mint Julep, Harry asked for a B&B. As Jessica turned to ask Carol and Kelly, who had still been locked in a kiss, Kelly turned to face her. Jessica's eyes widened as she saw that her first impression had been incorrect. The beautiful black woman wasn't wearing a top with a very low back, the back was so low because her top was around her waist. Her eyes went to Kelly's tits and stayed there as she nervously licked her lips. Kelly, in full predator mode, couldn't help but notice. She approached Jessica, smiling at the scent of prey. The young woman's eyes never left her tits. She closed the distance to her target, pressed her body close and whispered in her ear. "I'll have a mojito, Jes… si… caaaa." As she moved back a few steps, the waitress' gaze never wavered. "You might want to write that down, Angel." Jessica continued to stare at Kelly's tits, her mouth slightly open. Finally Carol moved in-between Jessica and Kelly. "Jessica!" The girl's eyes rose and she looked at Carol. "She would like a mojito and I'll have a B&B as well. You okay?" "Uh, yes ma'am, I am." "If you'd get those for us, we'd really appreciate it. And can we leave a tip for our earlier waitress as well? We're sorry she left before we realized it." "Yes ma'am, we'll make sure she gets it." "Thank you." Jessica walked towards the bar with their orders. Carol turned to Kelly. "You are so bad! We need to have you leashed and on a chain. You're either begging for it or about to make someone beg you for it." Kelly moved towards her like the rush of some big cat in its final pounce on its prey. Her arms went around Carol's body in one smooth motion and grabbed her ass, pulling her to Kelly. She attacked Carol's neck and face, kissing and biting, rubbing her face against Carol's and caressing her whole body with her own. "Then why don't you chain me?" she growled. Carol put her hands behind Kelly's head and upper back, swung one leg around in a tight circle. The next thing Kelly knew she had hit the floor in a controlled fall and Carol was sitting on her waist, holding her arms down with her hands. "Now if only I had a chain handy," Carol smirked, "other than my own, which is too good for misbehaving little Kelly's." "How did you do that?" Kelly asked as she looked up at Carol and wished Carol would fuck her, right there on the floor, like an animal. "Well precious, if I told you, then you'd tell someone and they'd tell someone else and pretty soon everyone would know." Carol stretched her body out on top of Kelly's and pulled the girl's arms over her head while sliding her tongue between Kelly's lips and down her throat. They lay there, fighting and fucking each other with their mouths, until Jessica returned with their drink orders. Harry was sitting and visiting with Eddy and Tamara when she returned. As she dropped off Eddy's water and Tamara's orange juice, along with Harry's B&B, she looked at Harry as if she wanted to say something, then thought better of it and turned to go. "Jessica," Harry said. She turned back. "If you have something you want to say, say it." "Well, I don't mean to pry… are you all with some rock band?" Harry's laughter caught almost all of his friends' attention. "No," he said, once he was in control of himself, "no rock band, we're just a little odd." He glanced at the two girls, back to their duel for dominance on the floor. "Some of us are odder than others. Listen, it's kind of evident you're interested and if you haven't figured out yet, they don't mind putting on a show. If you can come up with a reason why you're back here that'll keep you out of trouble with your boss, feel free to watch." "You don't think they'd mind?" "Jessica, trust me, they won't mind. They'll go out of their way to get even more risqué and if you're not careful you just might end up as part of the show." The young woman blushed and hurried off to finish delivering the rest of the orders. "Eddy, do you ever get the feeling that you're living in some sort of dream that occasionally decides it's just not weird enough yet?" "No Harry, but sometimes I do feel like I'm living in a dream," Eddy said, absently. Harry watched as Eddy's hand unconsciously stroked Tamara's hair. He caught her eye and smiled, raising an eyebrow in question. She sighed deeply and snuggled in closer to the big man, smiling. Oblivious to it all, Eddy stroked her hair, lost in thought. Across the table, Jessica delivered Karen and Patricia's margaritas and moved on, past them sitting on the floor, cuddling. "So Trish, I heard that whimper at Bubba's tonight. What got you hot and bothered?" Karen asked, fondling her breast. "Are you sure you won't think I'm weird?" "Trish, there are two girls about to fuck each other over there while our waitress watches. 'Weird' is relative, but I'm pretty sure that as long as it doesn't involve a chicken, either feathered or plucked, or a man, I won't think it's weird." "Uh, when Margo was talking about Harry fucking Carol in the ass, I wished it was me… I mean, not me with Harry, and not while I was eating someone else, but me getting fucked… you know… by you… and now you think I'm weird." "No Trish, I don't think you're weird. I know you're weird. I know you're crazy. You came back to me." "That wasn't weird or crazy Liz, that was love. I never stopped loving you. I just couldn't live with you the way things were." "Trish, you wanting some anal play doesn't make me think you're weird. It makes me think you want some anal play." "It doesn't disgust you?" "Patricia Ellen Keller! How could anything my love does disgust me?" Patricia hugged her tightly. "Okay, well, there is that thing you do when you brush your teeth and then gargle and then spit and you sound like you're hacking up a hairball… that's pretty disgusting." The resulting tickle fight was epic in proportion. Back at the table, Eddy saw that although she tried hard to hide it, Theresa was so tired she was fighting off sleep and losing. "Harry, as well as all you other loose and morally bankrupt servants of Satan, the young lady and I are off to bed." A chorus of 'good-bye's and 'fuck-you's brought smiles to his and Theresa's faces as he carried her out of their section and through the bar towards the elevator. As he carried the small woman like a child, seated on his arm with hers around his neck, across the lobby he caught a disapproving stare from the night clerk at the desk. One patented Eddy-the-Monster glare later the clerk had found many other things to look at. As they got to the room, Theresa said "Edward, I need a shower but I'm not sure I can stay standing through one. Could you help me take a bath, please?" There went that heart lurching thing again…no heart lurching… certainly No Crotch Lurching, Eddy thought to himself. "Uh, yeah, yeah I can help you with that, but let's make it a quick one, you need your sleep." Soon a warm bath had been run and Eddy watched her carefully, ready to help if she needed him, as she leaned on the counter next to the tub and undressed. Eddy was transfixed. She was beautiful. Even in her slightly emaciated condition she was radiantly beautiful. The monster stares at what it can never have… how touching. How romantically tragic, you great hulking beast! I dare you to say one thing, one intelligible thing that might win her heart in even the smallest way you pathetic piece of shit! Speak, monster, grunt, growl! Oil of Roses Ch. 13 "Theresa… you're so… lovely… I could…spend… my life… just looking… at you." Oh, very good! Truly the most spastic protestation of love since the Hunchback of Notre Dame! With such a silver tongue it's no wonder you wake up next to the slatterns you do. "Edward," she said, turning all the way around, "please, look to your heart's content. I am yours to do with as you will, whether I am to eventually return to Mr. Grimes' possession or not. Right now, I… am… yours. He gave me to you, you accepted." She went to him, naked, vulnerable and motioned to be picked up. Haltingly he did so, all too aware of her nakedness and his reactions to her. She sat on his arm and looked at him. "Edward, sir, please do more than look. You are so beautiful and so terrible in your beauty…" "I'm not beautiful…" "To me you are. I'm looking beyond your face to the man who dropped his life at a second's notice to do his friend a favor. I'm gazing past your flesh at the man Carol told me about on the way over here, the man who helped save Margo years ago and helped Harry give Rick what he deserved. The man who would kill for his friends without a second's regret. I'm looking beyond your visage to a man who has held me and carried me almost non-stop for hours tonight. Who in spite of his size and strength has treated me more gently than any man I've ever known before in my whole life. I'm seeing the man who looked at me with so much tenderness it frightened me. Do you hear me Edward John Janak? The tenderness in you, not the strength or the size or the ferocity, the tenderness frightened me. It washed over me and I prayed I wouldn't fall in love with you right there and then. "That man, Edward, that man is beautiful and it's a terrifying beauty because of the strength of the emotions inside him. I know you can't or won't see it when you look in the mirror but believe me, sir, there is so much love inside you it's like looking up at some great dam stretching across a mighty river. You know what's behind that dam and no matter how much you trust it, the weight of what's behind it frightens you a bit." "I'm not… all that… I'm a monster." "Edward, who told you that? Who?" She grabbed the sides of his head and tugged at it as if to force him to look at her. "Please, look at me Edward and tell me who lied to you like that?" "We better get you in that bath before it gets cold." She looked at him sadly. "Perhaps we'd better." He started to wash her and he watched himself as he did so. He watched how gently he touched her. How careful he was with her. "Edward, I can wash myself, if this is making you uncomfortable." "No, let me, please." "Edward," she said as he washed her hair, "as you bathe me, every stoke of your hand, every move of your fingers is an act of pure love, so gentle, so caring, how can you call yourself a monster." Eddy jerked as if hit with a cattle prod. "I… I… I can't finish this, I'll be in the other room, you call me when you need me." Eddy fled the room before he burst out in tears over her. No heart lurching, no crotch lurching, no cock lurching… no heart lurching, please, he thought. A little while later he heard her call him. Going in he found her sitting on the edge of the tub watching it drain. "Theresa, yes I care about you and yes I'm careful with you. You're a woman and you're small and you're frail and I could hurt you without meaning to. I couldn't live with that. Not again. And I won't deny what anyone could see by looking at my body. I find you very beautiful and I want you. "But I'm not going to have you, I can't have you, you'll be going back to Harry when it's safe for you to do so and I don't want that… pain. So what I want is immaterial, just like what you want. My job is to protect you and hide you. Now come here and let me dry you and then let's get you to bed." He dried her, deliberately, delicately, carried her in and sat her on the bed. "Now, I know they're dirty but let's get you some clothes on to sleep in." "Why, Edward? I want to sleep naked, next to you, naked as well. If you dress me, as soon as you're asleep I will take off whatever clothes you put me in." "What if I order you to leave them on?" "Then do it Edward. Order me. Command me. Tell me to wear clothes and I will. Tell me to sleep on the floor and I will. Tell me to crawl down to the elevators naked and push my butt into the air for everyone who gets off the elevator, and beg them to fuck me, I will. "There's only one thing I can conceive of you ordering me to do that I will not." "What's that?" he asked, wishing he could call her bluff and bring himself to order her to do something, anything. "Order me not to love you. Command me to deny how I feel about you. Tell me to lie to you and say that I don't want you. Deny my heart the right to give itself to whoever it chooses. I do love you, I can't deny it and I won't lie about it. I want you. My heart has been yours for hours." "That was more than one thing." Tears flowed down her cheeks. "So I suck at math." Eddy fell to his knees, defeated but still fighting. "But Harry…" She slipped off the end of the bed and came to him, her perfect lips meeting his, her tears wetting his cheeks and mixing with his own as they started to flow. For an eternity he was blessed to kiss her lips and he could taste her and her taste was like a sweet wine and she tasted like lavender smelled and his arms were around her and he was lost but still he fought on. "Harry will want you back." She looked at him. "Edward, Harry and Carol rescued me. They didn't buy me for themselves. Do you think so little of the people who love you that you can believe that they would deny you your happiness to take possession of something they didn't want in the first place? Can't you see and hear how much they love you? Don't you know that even if Harry'd had to spend twenty thousand for me, if you asked him he would give me to you gladly, just because you asked? Are you really that ignorant of how your friends feel about you? "Edward, this is moving so much faster than I thought it could and I don't care. Don't you see, they didn't just buy me to rescue me; they bought me to rescue you. "I'm yours if you want me, I'm yours if you'll have me, I'm yours already; take me, use me, love me, do whatever you want with me, please." And she was in his arms and it was a dream because in real life Quasimodo never got to hold Esmeralda, never got to kiss her, never had her take his clothes off and climb on top of him as he lay on the bed in shock, never had her tongue thrusting into his mouth as she rubbed her wet and warm cunt against his belly, never felt her curl her fingers in his chest hair, tugging on it. He never gazed into Esmeralda's eyes as she blessed him with her tears, murmuring to him "I love you". In a quieter moment he asked "Why do you want me to call you Theresa when everyone else calls you Tamara or Tammy?" as she kissed him all over his chest. She stopped and looked at him. "It's going to sound perverse, but it's not. It's what my Daddy called me. Not that he and I ever did anything like this, no. But with him I always felt safe, I always felt loved. I always knew that I had a refuge. That's why I want you to call me Theresa, because in those ways, you remind me of him. "Now Edward, I think it's time you made love to me." He lifted her up and was about to position her on top of his erection when she said "Edward, please sir, you on top of me." "But what if I slip? What if I lose my grip and I fall on you?" "Edward, you won't fall on me and even if you did, I'm not that fragile. Beneath you I won't feel threatened, I'll feel sheltered." Reluctantly, able to refuse her nothing, he did as she asked. As he looked down at her tiny body below him, he was so terrified he lost his erection. "Hold on, sir, let me get that for you." She slid down the bed and took his deflating cock in her mouth. She caressed his balls with her tiny hands as his dick began to swell in her mouth. Soon he was erect again and she moved back up onto a pillow, putting herself into position. "Would you like me to beg for it, sir?" "Seriously beg, never. If at times you want to playfully beg, that's fine." She smiled at him, a glint of mischief in her large brown eyes. "Oh please sir, fuck me, fuck me now before I lose my mind," she said in a silly falsetto. "Sir, if you don't take me right now I'm going to start singing every annoying pop song I can think of and I've spent a lot of time listening to annoying pop songs. And I don't sing well, have I mentioned…" He had put his cock at the entrance to her cunt and the warm wetness sucked him in like there was a magnet between her legs. Then he was inside her, slowly moving deeper and they were moving together and Eddy was amazed because to him, it felt like King Kong making love to Fay Wray. It was a physical impossibility, but it was happening and she was so beautiful and they moved together so perfectly. Minute by minute he watched her, amazed at her beauty and then she was coming and he watched the blood rush to her skin and it was like a fall of autumn leaves being blown across a bank of snow. He watched her stifling her cries. "If you want to make noise I want to hear it" he said. And she gave her passion voice and Eddy listened to her music and his tears fell on the bed and somewhere in her climax he came and didn't realize it was happening until he felt himself come inside her and he let himself down closer to her and she began to run her fingers across his chest above her, almost pawing at him as he finished his orgasm. Afterwards they lay side by side and she looked up at him. "Sir, would you like me to clean you before we go to sleep? I can get a washcloth or I can use my mouth…" "Do you really know what I want, Theresa? I want you to be here in the morning and I want you to at least pretend to still love me, if just for a little while." She climbed atop him and looked at him, face to face. "Edward, I am so sorry that the world has hurt you so badly, oh God I am so sorry. I wish I could take that pain away from you. No one, ever, deserves to feel that, least of all gentle, noble, beautiful you." "Sir, I'll give you all you want and I'll go you one better. I'll still be here in the morning and I'll still love you, really and truly. You'll still be beautiful and I'll still know there's no one I'd rather belong to than you. I'll still want you, I'll still love every second of every day that I'm with you, I'll still need you more than I can say. Will that please you?" "That's more than 'one better'." She smiled, "So I suck at math." And she laid her head on his chest, and they went to sleep that way, with her stretched out atop him. Oil of Roses Ch. 14 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * As soon as Eddy and Tamara had made their goodbyes, Margo came and sat next to her husband. "So, are they going to be an item?" she asked, mischievousness oozing from every syllable. "Oh yeah, only a matter of time, as if with Our Lady of Empathy doing the matchmaking there was ever much doubt." "That's good. Eddy needs someone who'll love him and take care of him and I might volunteer for the job if I weren't already well and truly spoken for by two of the most loveable hedonists on the planet." "Yeah, I don't see Carol and me giving you your walking papers any day soon." He faked a belch and scratched his armpit. "Yew're jus' too gawddamn handy in the kitchen, woman, and yew're purty good with a broom 'n' a mop, too." She turned to him, the sweet smile on her face doing nothing to disguise the evil gleam in her eyes. "Why Harry, how kind of you to say so." She leaned close and whispered in his ear as she massaged his cock, "I wonder if you'll still think so highly of my domestic skills after I tie you down and do nasty, horrible things to you with that broom and mop?" "Well, long as you lube 'em first, we should be okay." Her composure dissolved into a fit of giggles. Harry held his wife close to him and breathed in the scent of her. It was good to be alive and be in love and have such a wonderful woman as his bride. "Shall we go watch the floor show?" Margo said. "Oh, let's," Harry replied. And a floor show it was. Carol still held down Kelly, but had turned her over and was licking the bottom of her ass cheeks as they came out from under the shorts. Kelly writhed beneath her, obviously enjoying the attention. Jessica was watching, one hand at her breasts and the other in her crotch. It was obvious she was headed for an orgasm. It occurred to Harry that if this show went on much longer, Kelly was in for some rug burns. "Why don't you two relax a little and let the serious play time wait till we're upstairs?" he said. The two women got up off the floor and then stood in front of Jessica, within inches of her. Kelly's top was still down and Carol began to lick and suck at her breasts. After a few moments, Kelly turned a saliva-wetted tit towards Jessica, the nipple perhaps an inch before her lips. "You sure you don't want to play with us, pretty one?" the beautiful black woman cooed. "N-n-no, I j-just w-w-want to w-watch," Jessica stammered out. Carol turned Kelly away from her and bent Kelly over, then slipped two fingers into Kelly's wet cunt and brought them out, damp and smelling of arousal. She smoothly waved them back and forth beneath Jessica's nose. "Are you sure you don't want to play with Kelly and me, Jessica?" She brought her mouth to Jessica's ear, within a hair's breadth, and said "Three is so much more fun than two." Jessica closed her eyes, her body stiffened and jerked as she moaned quietly. The orgasm she was riding out couldn't have been more evident to onlookers if she'd had neon signs above her head blinking on and off "She's Coming Now". Once she could focus her eyes again, she said "No, really... I just love watching. I have a boyfriend who is going to fuck me so hard I won't walk for a week, just because of what I tell him about tonight. He doesn't understand why I like to watch other people so much either, but it doesn't stop him from getting incredibly excited when I tell him what I've seen." "Well then, let's let you see a little more." Carol motioned for Kelly to hop up on the table. She went to her bag, rummaged about in it and then returned. Kneeling before Kelly's wide open legs she said "For this next part of the performance I request absolute quiet from the audience." She looked up at Kelly. "Trust me, honey?" "Just be careful." "Oh, I will be." Carol leaned in and took the crotch seam of Kelly's shorts in her teeth, pulling it away from her as far as it would go. Then out of her pocket, she flashed her straight razor, opened it and slid it under the seam, hollow-ground edge away from Kelly, and slowly and carefully cut through the strip of cloth that linked front and back. Suddenly Kelly was wearing a very ragged mini-skirt. Then Carol grasped the crotch seam of the thong with her teeth and pulled it away from her lover. Carefully she positioned the razor and let go. Like a knife through butter the razor sliced through the thong and Kelly's wet cunt was exposed to the world. Harry had been aware of Karen and Patricia standing behind him for some time. Karen leaned forward and whispered "Harry, is it like this every night at your place?" "Not every night, no... but a lot of nights... it seems like it... yeah." Patricia asked "What do you... how do you handle... you know what I mean!" "Yeah, yeah I do... Patricia, to tell you the truth, I come... a lot. I mean, frequently... voluminously... it's really kind of frightening how much I come..." "Shhhh," Karen said, "I think we get the picture." "No Sappho, I really don't think you do. Imagine if every time your cunt twitched, you got an erection, I mean, your strap-on magically came to life and reacted like a real penis. Patricia can fill in for Margo. So, not only do you have the bountiful charms of Patricia, but Carol is always there and it seems that Kelly is there more often than not. The two of them... the erotic super nova duet... doing this kind of thing. And every time your cunt twitches, Sappho, erection time... in a house with three women who want to help you with that problem. Can you put yourself there in your mind?" "Jesus Christ Harry, do you think you'll be able to find the strength to make it in three days a week? Are we going to have to cut your hours back some more?" "There are days when I wonder that myself, Sappho." Meanwhile, back at the table, Carol had begun to lick Kelly's cunt while Jessica watched, entranced. From the entrance to the section, "Jessica? Jessica? Are you in there?" "Damn, it's Mom," she moaned. She quickly put herself back together and turned to Margo. "Do I look presentable?" Margo looked her over then leaned forward, sniffing her. "Yeah, but you smell like you've been fucking." "Shit. Well, I'll have to tough it out." Carol went up to her and licked her ear lobe, touching her for the first time. "You want to see more, you know where we are." "Well don't be surprised if there's a knock at the door tonight then." Kelly came and hung herself on Carol, licking her lips suggestively. "Oh we won't, Jessica you plump little angel, we won't be surprised at all." "Jessica?" "There in a minute Mrs. Reynolds." The waitress smiled and then, most unexpectedly, kissed Kelly on the lips. "You are amazing. If I was going to stop watching and start playing, I'd start playing with you." She hurried out into the bar to speak with her mother. Kelly and Carol looked at each other, eyebrows raised and smirks on their faces. "I am gonna fuck that little white girl," Kelly proclaimed. "Yes you are, girl, you are gonna take her and make her do the pant & beg." "Uh huh, that's right, girlfriend, she might as well tattoo "Kelly's" above that pretty pussy 'cause I am gonna own that by the end of the night." "Might as well get her a new collar all picked out." "Are the two of you through with Kelly and Carol's Great Urban Trash Talk Extravaganza?" Margo asked, smiling. "I was thinking you might want to refasten your top and we might want to take this party upstairs to the suite, just in case her condition raises any questions with her mother, you know, the manager of this fine establishment." Harry went to take care of the tab while the women clustered around Kelly and effectively shielded her from view all the way to the elevator. They held it until Harry caught up with them. Their suite key accessed the top floor and by the time the doors opened Carol and Kelly were locked into a kiss and embrace. Karen and Patricia hung back in the elevator. "I guess it's time for us to be hitting our room, guys," Karen said. "Not unless you want it to be," Harry replied. "The light level's going to be even lower up here and we brought the stash of booze from the house. The suite has plenty of comfortable places to sit and make out... or whatever... and if you don't mind neither do we." Patricia thought about how comfortable she felt with these people. "Can we stay, Liz? I wouldn't mind enjoying the ambient orgy vibe a little while longer." Her hand stroked the side of Karen's breast. "Who knows, you might get lucky, get to fuck me on a couch like we were teenagers." Karen looked at Harry and said "We'll be joining you in the suite." The inside of the Presidential Suite was huge. The sitting room area alone was larger than most hotel rooms, a wonderfully soft king size bed in an enormous bedroom area and a decently sized bar and kitchenette. The bathroom featured a huge Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. The suite proper, as well as the bathroom, offered a beautiful view of the city. All in all, a perfect place for a party. The drapes and curtains were thrown open and the city spread its twinkling glory below them as every light in the suite was extinguished. "Carol, come help me set up the coffee maker," Harry said. "Coming sir, just getting undressed." "Well by all means, please attend to that first. I was strongly considering just stripping you out of your clothes in the bar but figured there'd be no quick way to get them back on if we needed to." "Oh sir, you'd be amazed what blind panic can do for your speed-dressing skills." "Harry, you evil malevolent bastard, are you setting up to make your Irish Coffee?" called Karen from a couch across the room. "Damn sure am, Sappho. Something tells me I'm going to need the caffeine tonight." Patricia wandered out of the bathroom. "My God, that tub is huge. It looks big enough to do a 'Shark Tank' in." "Excuse me, a what?" Harry asked. "Something some friends of mine created when we were in college, it sort of spread campus wide. It started as a kind of dare, like in 'truth or dare'. What the victim did was kneel for a certain amount of time, naked and blindfolded, in the middle of a hot tub filled with people teasing them. The teasers were only allowed to use hands and mouths. Scoring was based on the length of time they resisted. Then variations evolved, like one where the victim knelt there until they gave in and went for one of the teasers, then the two of them were left alone in the tub. Or another variant where that was just the starting gun for an orgy. The only way I ever played it was the original version, with my lover standing by to reap the benefits of my time in the tank." "YOU TOOK TURNS IN THE TANK?" said Karen. She walked over, stripped down to her sports bra and briefs. "They did all-female tanks?" "No. No, they didn't. That was why the rules were set up as they were. Only hands and mouths because everybody, male, female, gay, straight, bi, big, small, skinny, overweight, everybody had those. I know I had guys pawing me but it didn't really matter. My body responded because it was all teasing, it was all fingers and lips, hands and tongues. Needless to say only clean-shaven guys were allowed in a proper 'Shark Tank'." "Damn, you had something else in your past that would raise my eyebrows, besides that thing with the preacher's wife at church camp. I am impressed." Carol dragged Harry's head down to hers. "We are SO doing a proper 'shark tank' when the hot tub is up and running." Margo appeared behind him, gloriously naked. "Yes, yes we are." Harry yielded to the inevitable. "Yes ma'am, I wouldn't think otherwise. A proper 'shark tank' shall be done, probably more than once." "Does anyone have a need for the tub," asked Kelly, "because I'd like to catch a quick bath if nobody minds?" No one did so Kelly skipped off into the bathroom to start the tub filling. Harry had gotten both sides of the coffee maker running, as well as the one that came with the room. He was shedding his clothes when there was a knock at the door. "Damn! Hold on." As he struggled to get his pants back on when Kelly walked to the door and threw it open in all her naked glory. "Hi Jessica, thought it would be you." The young woman walked into the room cautiously, more carefully still when the door closed behind her and she had even less light to see by. "Business was slow, so Mom let me off. Those very generous tips you left me, the bartender and your other waitress certainly soothed her mood about losing the whole back section for part of the evening. She figures you as big spenders for sure now. I brought a bottle of vodka the bartender keeps behind the bar for me... didn't know if you had anything to drink up here besides that horribly overpriced minibar." She walked to the bar area. "I see I needn't have bothered." She looked around. "It's even darker in here than you had it downstairs." Kelly was on her like a cheetah on a slow gazelle. "That's because most of us are naked, Angel, or we're going to be that way real soon. And that's what I wanted to talk to you about. See, that's gonna be a problem for you." Kelly started to unbutton Jessica's uniform. "What do you mean?" "This whole 'watching' thing you've got going, it's all fine and good, but it's too dark in here to watch, you're gonna have to get close and touch, Angel." Jessica's hands made futile attempts to re-button what Kelly had undone. "But I don't touch, I just watch." "Harry, would you please see to my water, I think it's about ready. No, Angel, tonight one of two things is going to happen. Either you're going to be naked and fucking me," her pulled Jessica's face to hers and she kissed her, the tongue she thrust down the girl's throat an assault on her barriers, "or you're going to go home and wonder for the rest of your life what you missed out on." She pulled Jessica's uniform down to the floor and the girl stepped out of it, blinking, a bemused look upon her face. "And let me guess, your boyfriend really gets excited when you tell him about watching two girls together, doesn't he? Even more excited than when you tell him about watching a guy and a girl?" "Uh, yeah, yeah he does." Kelly was on her knees, helping Jessica out of her shoes. "Then just think how excited he's going to be when you tell him one of the girls was you." "No... no I'm going to get dressed and go. I think it was a mistake to come here." Kelly wrapped her arms around the girl's waist and jammed her face into Jessica's crotch. "Ummm, Angel, either you're lying to me and to yourself or your cunt's lying." She stood up, reached around behind Jessica and unhooked her bra. "See, it's all hot and wet, and it smells heavenly. If I have to pick one of you to believe, I'll believe it over you any day." Karen, seated on the couch cuddling with a mostly naked Patricia, said, "When does this become rape?" Harry, who had returned from the bathroom and was making the Irish Coffees said, "Don't worry, you'll see here in a minute that it isn't rape." Beyond hearing or seeing what went on around them, the two young women continued their dance. Jessica's bra fell to the floor and she stood, clad in nothing but panties and pantyhose. Her rapid breath and erect nipples left little doubt as to her excitement. She looked around at the others, vague shapes in the darkness. "What about them?" "No, don't worry, Angel, I promise you're not about to become a party favor. Oh, some of them might tease you some, but the only one you have to worry about fucking you is me. So," she said, stepping back, "what's it going to be? Either finish undressing or get dressed and leave. Your choice." "See," Harry said, "that's why you don't have to worry, Sappho. She's going to have her chance to walk away." In her own little world, Jessica Reynolds stared at the beautiful woman in front of her, naked and horny and so hot. Jessica didn't feel threatened by these people, she felt strange but not threatened. Slowly she started peeling down her pantyhose. Kelly came over and put Jessica's head between her breasts. "You are a good girl; I knew you'd make the right decision. How old are you, honey?" "Eighteen." "Ummm, sweet eighteen and I bet you've never been locked in a sixty-nine with another woman, have you?" "No... I've never even kissed another woman before tonight." "Well, we are gonna pop so many of your cherries this evening." Harry wandered around and asked Patricia and Jessica how they took their coffee, then went back and finished his preparations. "Angel," Kelly said, "are you all the way off duty or would you mind helping Harry serve the coffee?" "Not a problem," Jessica replied, glad to be doing something familiar and totally safe for a moment. After everyone was served, Harry announced, "Toast time. To family, loved ones and friends new and old!" The toast was echoed, followed by sounds of blowing and careful slurping throughout the room. "Goddamn Harry, if I had any, and I mean ANY, desire for dick, I would blow you for this coffee," said Patricia. "Told you," said Karen, "even if he wasn't good for anything else in the universe, this would justify his existence." Kelly walked over to Harry, knelt and slid his dick into her mouth. "WHOA! That's different," said Harry, "she's got a mouthful of coffee!" Everyone laughed. "A little too hot for you, Harry?" asked Margo. "No... no... no, just a little unexpected, that's all." Kelly finished teasing him and then cleaned his cock off with a damp bar towel. "Another toast," Harry said. "To absent friends." "To absent friends." Kelly took Jessica by the hand and they headed for the bathroom. "My bath girl and I are going to be busy for awhile. If anyone needs to potty, come on in, you won't disturb us but we might just disturb you." Margo curled up on a couch next to Harry as Carol sat down at his feet. "Harry," Margo said, "have we created a monster?" "What do you mean beloved?" "Well, Carol is given leave to seduce, Kelly. A 24 year-old takes a 22 year-old. Now Kelly takes Jessica. A 22 year-old takes an 18 year-old. Both incidents are startlingly similar, people in the food service industry, both incidents primarily beginning with the opening of a door at a place of residence, no matter how temporary in this case. How soon are we going to read in the newspaper about Jessica Reynolds being found in flagrante delicto with a 10 year-old Girl Scout who rang her doorbell to sell her cookies?" Oil of Roses Ch. 14 The five of them had a good laugh over the thought. Carol crawled over to Margo and wormed between her legs, resting her head on her thighs and staring up at her. "Would you like me to dress as a Girl Scout, Madam? Show up at the door one day and let you take advantage of me?" She kissed the inside of Margo's thighs. "Roll around the living room floor while we stab each other's cunts with tubes of cookies? I'd even shave myself for it if you wanted me to. Would you like that, Madam?" "Let me think on that, Baby Girl." Margo slid herself to the edge of the couch, grasping Carol's head and shoving the girl's face into her cunt. "Lick on that while I think about it." Harry watched the two women in his life, his cock hardening by the second. "Uh, honey, if it turns out you're not interested in that particular bit of role-playing, I think I might be." Margo laughed. "Might be indeed, from the look of your dick... or is that your reaction to what we're doing right now?" "Actually, that's my reaction to the part of the fantasy where you come home unexpectedly, catching me fucking the Girl Scout and instead of getting pissed off, you get out the strap on and fuck her in the ass while she blows me." As if on cue, Harry's cock gave a strong twitch and a whimper of desire came from Carol's throat. "Oh, that's the part of the fantasy you were enjoying. I thought it might be the part where we decide not to let the little cum slut go home to her Mommy and Daddy and just decide to keep her, be her new Mommy and Daddy. Can't let her out of the house, somebody might see her... we'll have to keep her chained up in the bedroom." Carol's hands both went to her crotch as she masturbated furiously, all the while increasing the intensity of her attentions to Margo's cunt. A low and steady whimpering came from her throat. "Can you imagine her, sitting there in the shredded rags of her Girl Scout uniform, being forced to work on getting her Fellatio Badge?" Margo shook as she climaxed. "I think the little slut already has her Cunnilingus Badge. Ummm... umm... umm... nope, she doesn't need to work on getting that one. Oooooh, tongue fuck me, sweetheart! That's it, uh huh." On the opposite couch, Karen and Patricia were lost in each other, only hearing what was going on near them as Patricia lay face down on top of Karen, caressing her, while Karen gently and lovingly licked Patricia's pussy. The ongoing commotion across the table from them bothered them not at all and in fact, the sounds of Margo and Carol had done Patricia's libido nothing but good as she lost her remaining inhibitions and began to grind herself into Karen's face, her excitement becoming evident by a series of low, breathy exhalations. * * * * * She was nine years old and it was that final night when so many little things went wrong and she had to be on top of things all the time because if just one little thing wasn't right it could all start to go to pieces and it just took one little thing, just one. Mommy was home from the hospital again with a new medicine to keep her well. During the day she was Tammy's responsibility so Tammy had to make sure she took her medicine every day at lunch but Mommy didn't want to take her medicine so Tammy had to be real extra special careful to make sure she took it. Even though Mommy was on medicine Tammy and Daddy still locked up the sharp things in a cabinet in the kitchen because if Mommy went bad again she wouldn't mean to hurt them but she would. Now that Mommy was home Tammy couldn't be alone with her Daddy because that might set Mommy off so Daddy didn't read her bedtime stories anymore unless Mommy was with him and even when she had medicine she never wanted to sit with Daddy while he did that. They had finished supper and it was bedtime and Mommy was 'zoned out', like Daddy called it, in front of the television. Daddy had said "she'll never know" and had taken Tammy and tucked her in and was reading her a story about Gossamer Goose and his friends and their adventures in Mallardtown when Daddy spit up red all over her bedsheets and her face and the sharp shiny point of the knife had come through his shirt front and it had started getting red there too and he coughed up some more red as he turned and it sprayed across her wall and it looked like the silhouettes of Gossamer and his friends flying for home and he was looking at Mommy and she was screaming that he never loved her it had always been about his precious Theresa and his hands were grabbing at the back of his shirt trying to grip the knife and he couldn't get it. Behind him she saw Mommy raise the other knife and she looked almost sad when she said that now Daddy and Theresa would be together forever and Daddy and Mommy fought with each other for the knife and then Daddy was falling towards her on the bed and he caught himself on his arms. Mommy laid down on the floor and was very still and Daddy looked in her eyes and said "It's okay, Theresa, you're gonna be fine" and then he slid down on top of her and she screamed and screamed and screamed and kept screaming until someone came. When it really happened, the neighbors had come eventually and pulled him off of her but in the dream they never came. And she'd relived that night so many times that she didn't even wake up anymore she just cried in her sleep and her screams came out as soft moans of pain and while she knew it wasn't her fault there was a nine year-old inside her who would always know that she had killed her Daddy and Mommy by letting first one and then several more little things get away from her. Mommy had been faking taking her medicine and Tammy didn't catch it, Tammy didn't make Daddy put the knives away, Tammy didn't stop Daddy from doing something that would set Mommy off. Tammy killed Daddy and Mommy. In his sleep Eddy heard her and pulled her into his arms and stroked her back for a long, long time until she finally began to relax and come out of her fetal position. He comforted her without even fully waking up. In her dream she was screaming and then the giant came and he gently put Daddy on the floor and he said "Theresa, there's nothing to be scared of anymore" and he wiped the blood of her face and picked her up in his arms and carried her towards the door and she said "I don't want to leave Daddy" and he said "You can't leave him, he's in your heart, little one, where he always will be" and then he took her away from there. * * * * * In the tub Jessica had given up all pretense of fighting and was wholeheartedly joining in her own seduction. Their coffee cups were empty. Kelly took her mouth off Jessica's throat. "What'll I have to do to get you to go get us both something to drink? Anything, ask for anything." "Ummm, well..." "Come on, Angel, out with it, what do you want nasty and naughty Kelly to do?" "You'll think it's gross..." "I doubt it but you'll never know for sure if you don't ask." "I want to lick your ass and I want you to lick mine," Jessica said in a rush, as if afraid she'd be interrupted. Kelly laughed. "Is that all? Girlfriend, that was gonna happen whether you wanted it to or not, at least the me-licking-you part. I'll take rum and coke, thank you very much." As Jessica stood up in the tub Kelly grabbed her and thrust her tongue in-between the soft round globes of her bottom, running her tongue up and down the crack. "OOOOOOOH, KELLY, I don't think I'm going to get us drinks while you're doing THAT!" Kelly gently forced her tongue into Jessica's ass, firmly and irresistibly, thrusting it, wriggling it, flexing it. "Fuck DRINKS, oh my God, HMMmmm." Kelly finally pulled back. "Think of that as a down payment, Angel." "Okay... now let's see if I can still walk," she said as she carefully climbed out of the tub. "What did you say you wanted again?" "Rum and coke, sweetie." "Right, got it." She walked out of the bathroom into the living room. The sounds and smells of sex were thick in the air. She knelt down for a moment and watched as Karen ate Patricia while carefully sliding two fingers in and out of her butt. She crossed to the opposite side and squatted beside Margo, watching her masturbate as Harry fucked Carol in the mouth. She remembered she was supposed to be doing something... then she remembered, drinks. She made them their drinks and then went back to the bathroom. "Is it always like this around y'all?" "No, Angel, sometimes it's even better. Now get your plump butt in here and let me love on you." "Yes ma'am." * * * * * Harry was cuddled on the couch with his wife and their pet and watched the dim figures of Karen and Patricia as they made love. It was not only beautiful in the traditional sense but he found himself fascinated by the apparently effortless fashion with which Karen repositioned Patricia at will. After a particularly intense series of orgasms for Patricia that left her gasping "No more, no more", she and Karen stopped and sat, cuddling each other, side by side. "You two are really beautiful together," Margo said. Karen smiled. "Thank you. This was our first performance before an audience; we hope you liked the show." Her voice betrayed her weariness. Patricia poked her in the ribs. "Don't get self-conscious; they were busy through a lot of it." "You sound tired Sappho; I thought you were the unstoppable engine of destruction?" "Harry, you little shit, don't make me laugh, I'm too tired. Free weights are nothing compared to hoisting Ms. Big Butt here around." "I DO NOT HAVE A BIG BUTT!" "Oh yes you do my love and I wouldn't change it if I could. My sweetie got some padding on her, just the way I like 'em." "It is a very nice, well-endowed butt," said Harry. "Looks tasty," Carol chimed in. "Lusciously delectable," said Margo. "Alright, you three can stay but you, Amazonian Warrior, are gone, banished from my sight!" She raised her voice. "I will offer my charms to Kelly who will not insult me by calling my sumptuous tushie a 'big butt'." "No," came Kelly's voice from the bathroom, "I'll go all Urban Trash Talk on you and call it a Bootylicious Bonanza of Big Bodacious Back!" "Perhaps trading Liz in for Kelly is not the brightest idea I've had today," laughed Patricia. "Besides," came Jessica's voice, "Kelly's already... OH... got a bottom she's... ohmygod... involved with." Harry got up and walked towards the bathroom. "Don't mind me, need to pee." As he walked through he saw that Kelly had shifted her primary attentions to Jessica's cunt and was merely fingering her ass. The young girl was rapidly approaching 'oblivious'. He sat down on the toilet and looked up to see Kelly staring at him. "Harry, are you sitting down to pee?" "Yes Kelly I am sitting down to pee. I live in a house where I am the only male and there are two and a half women. The easiest and most efficient, as well as lazy, way to insure that I am never yelled at for leaving the seat up is to never put the seat up. Therefore I now sit down to pee." There was laughter from the other room. "Harry, the women of the world would kill for clones of you. Would you mind if we looked into it as a money-making opportunity?" asked Margo. "My genetic material is yours to do with as you wish," he replied. Kelly raised her voice, "Speaking of 'mine to do with as I wish', Guinevere, would you and Merlin keep my captive entertained while I have my way with Arthur, if my captive doesn't mind?" "Who are you talking about? You're not through with me, are you?" Kelly caressed Jessica's face. "Oh sweet captive Angel, the evening is still very young and your treasures have yet to be plumbed by the sword that I strap on to myself. But I have a long awaited tryst with Arthur, the King, seated upon his throne there, and I have failed to keep it far too many times. Tonight I mean to take my pleasure of him while you and his wife Guinevere and the wizard Merlin watch. Would that please you, to watch?" "Oh yes." Then watch you shall. And will you mind if they keep you excited while I'm busy with Arthur? They're not going to fuck you, just tease you." "Not at all, they can tease me all they want right now." "All right then, Arthur, my liege, to the bed if you would." "I will not. Not until I have had time to cleanse myself in preparation for such a long anticipated union. So, Lady Kay, out of that tub with you and let me bathe in its blessed waters." "As you will, my Lord." Harry emptied their tub and ran himself a steaming hot bath and then, armed with a tall glass of ice water, sank into it and let the heat and the pounding of the jets work on him. In the other room Karen and Patricia were getting dressed and calling it a night. Karen walked into the bathroom. "Jesus Christ, Harry! Are you trying to cook yourself to death to avoid whatever Kelly has planned for you?" "No, Sappho, just letting loose of some tension... remind me tomorrow morning to fill you in on all the fun of the past few days." "It's a date. Harry, thank you for tonight. It's been... different... but so much fun. And it was so good to see Eddy again. I've missed him so much. It's been a great night." "For us as well, Sappho... it's been nice to finally spend some time with Patricia too. I'm so glad you two are back together. Well, come give me a hug and a kiss and get going." The bellow of surprise and anger as she was pulled into the tub had everyone at the door in a flash. They gazed upon a dripping wet Karen as she held Harry in a headlock. "Do... I... get... my... kiss?" he gasped. "Lady Karen, although your cause is just, please, I implore you, do not kill Arthur before I have fulfilled my quest to lay with him," begged Kelly. "Good Karen, I add my voice to Lady Kay's, please do not beat my husband as he so clearly deserves but rather let mercy stay your hand," added Margo. Karen released him, a large grin on her face. "Harry, you threw me. You put me on my butt. Oh, you cheated in a vile and low manner, but you did it, you put me on my butt in wrestling." Harry's face lit up. "I did, didn't I? Finally, after all these years, I got you!" Karen turned and kissed his right cheek. "And the crew at work" his left cheek "will never believe you" his right cheek "and I'll deny everything." She kissed his left cheek again. "Margo, I'm borrowing one of y'all's fancy hotel terrycloth robes to get me to my room, if that's ok." "Perfectly acceptable, noble Lady, take my husband's as is only fair. Call hotel services and have you and your lady's clothes washed and dried by morning and add it to the bill." "Harry?" "Yes, Sappho my love?" "You know payback's a bitch, don't you?" "I live in fear." Patricia kissed him on the cheek, carefully avoiding any chance of ending up in the tub. "That was hilarious," she whispered in his ear. After they had left, Harry finished his bath and soak. Wrapping himself in towels to stay warm as he dried he walked into the bedroom to find his wife and pet sucking on Jessica's tits and caressing her inner thighs, all three cuddled up on a couch repositioned to give front row seats for the show on the bed. On the bed, Kelly waited for him. "Come to bed, Harry." "What, no Arthurian epithets?" "No, I need to make love with my friend Harry. Come on." She looked almost somber, certainly far too serious for fun in bed. Harry climbed into bed and lay beside her. They held each other tenderly. "Are you okay, Kelly?" he asked before he took her hands and began kissing her palms. "Mostly, Harry. Turns out you're not the only one with some unwanted baggage from that little run-in with your wife... not that mine is anywhere near as heavy as yours. But it's just enough to make me feel uncertain and kind of scared." "Why?" he asked, before he returned to kissing her hands. "Harry, did I really almost see Angie get killed?" He stopped kissing her hands and looked her in the eyes. "Do you really want me to answer that question? I'll answer any question you ask me truthfully. You just have to decide if you want that truthful answer, no matter what it may be." "Yes," she said in a small voice. "I was three-quarters of the way there. I think Carol was seven-eighths of the way there. Eddy was there, has been there damn near since the day he met her and will remain there as long as she's alive." Tears flooded her eyes and she began to cry. "I was afraid of that, Harry. That's some goddamn deep water to find yourself in." "Shhhh, baby, I know," he said, holding her close as he kissed the tears from her face. "But it didn't happen. None of us went over that cliff. We stopped ourselves and you were very brave... it just took it a little longer to hit you what could've happened that night than it did the rest of us." On the couch the audience could tell that the two of them were talking but couldn't make out any of what they were saying. "Kelly, if you don't want to hang around anymore, we'll all understand. You went so far above and beyond... that was an enormous strain to put on a friendship like ours." She looked at him through teary eyes. "No Harry, that's part of the problem for me. I don't want to spend less time with the three of you... I want to spend more. I don't mean join your group marriage, no, but I'm happy when I'm around the three of you, I'm free, I'm accepted, I'm loved. I go back home to my apartment and my roommate and I have almost nothing in common and I wish I were back at your place... it feels like home. Would you guys be looking for a housemate? I can pay for my part of bills and rent." "Hey Margo, Carol, you got any problems with Kelly moving into one of the upstairs bedrooms?" "No, not at all." "Me either." "Fine, that's easy, when we go back to the house, you move in. Don't worry about rent and bills, other than groceries, if you want to chip in now and then." "But Harry..." "But me no buts, other than this beautiful one." He patted her butt. "I know college hasn't gotten any cheaper since I went, the house is paid for, the taxes are my problem and the utilities aren't going to increase that much because you move in. Now hush, and let me down here." Harry slid down between her legs and found her ready and wet. He had wanted to taste her since the first night he saw her. He parted her lips with his tongue and began to lick. Harry found her taste every bit as delectable as he had anticipated. He worked his tongue up and down her slit slowly which seemed to bring her close to the edge of orgasm but wouldn't push her over. The gyrations of her hips which had been so smooth and rhythmic when he began had devolved into twitches of distraction as her frustration grew. "Kelly, sweetie, let's shift you to the other end of the bed." He turned her twitching form so her head half hung off the end, allowing their audience to watch her face. Harry returned to his sweet task. After a few more minutes of his gentle ministrations she was back on the edge and Harry did his best to keep her there, occasionally licking and nibbling her inner thighs. "Harry Grimes... if you... don't make me cum... I'm going to do... something vile... to you in... the middle... of the night." Harry kissed her clit and began to massage it with his tongue. Kelly's arms came up and forced his face into her crotch as she rocked back and forth. And then she shuddered and said "Thank... you... Arthur... I've... wanted... that... so... long." Her thighs briefly clamped tightly around his head, then they relaxed and she let go of Harry's head and lay back down on the bed as he continued to kiss her clit. After her orgasm subsided he stopped and scooted up a bit. "Kelly, lock your legs around my chest." She did and he lifted her up, sliding a pillow beneath her butt. "Let go now sweetheart." And after she did, he put the tip of his cock in her and then, gazing down at the beautiful woman before him, pushed it in. As he started to stroke back and forth a problem became evident- he was fucking Kelly off the edge of the bed. "Carol honey, can you come help me with this?" Oil of Roses Ch. 14 Carol came and pushed Kelly back towards Harry. Margo and Jessica moved the couch around and settled back in, Jessica sitting between Margo's legs as Margo molested her from behind. Harry looked down at Kelly and saw her smiling up at him. Gone was any hint of mischief, gone was the normal deviltry present in Kelly's gaze. There was nothing in her eyes but a friend's love and her joy in their passion. It had become an act of sweetness and comfort. Harry realized that something had shifted, something he wasn't sure they had planned on. He and Kelly were truly making love, albeit as friends, not romantically linked lovers. He wondered if that was going to change anything. As they moved together... as he felt his friend's cunt squeezing his cock... as he watched his pet work to keep his partner on the bed... as he watched his wife licking their waitress' tits... as he pondered his oldest friend and the woman they had bought for him... as he thought of his business partner and the change for the better in her life... "Harry, baby, you're drifting, come back to Kelly, baby." "Oh God Kelly, I'm sorry." He smiled sheepishly at her. "This feels so good and I'm just so content going that I kind of zoned. I am so sorry." "It's okay Harry; it's just that you were starting to drool." "OH GOD," he said, his face beginning to glow red, "I AM SO..." and he heard the audience's laughter and saw the mischief in Kelly's eyes, "GOING TO TICKLE you silly! But let's finish this first." He picked up the pace and lowered his head to suck on her beautiful breasts. Her rhythm matched his and then raced ahead as her arms came up and she wrapped her hands around his upper arms, digging her nails into his flesh. He felt his knees slipping and crawled forward slightly. He sped up to match her and as he did he heard Carol squeak "Margo? Help?" He looked and saw that the increased pace was forcing Kelly off the bed despite Carol's best efforts. Margo looked at Jessica. "Sorry Angel, you're on your own... and we may need your help." Then his wife was helping to keep Kelly on the bed. Harry was about to return his attention to Kelly's tits when a thought occurred to him. "Kelly, should we just turn you around?" "NO, Harry... no... you should keep on... doing what you're doing." He kissed her nipple, sucked it between his teeth and massaged it with his tongue. Kelly's hips shuddered and his cock was caught in a vise that clamped down on it so hard it approached pain but when it released he came. He came so hard his vision blurred and he got lightheaded. He came so hard he sank to his elbows, resting atop Kelly as she shook from repeated orgasmic aftershocks. Her cunt closed on him again and this time it was pain but it was a good pain and he looked in her eyes as she orgasmed again and saw the beautiful blankness of someone no longer home. He pulled out and shifted off of her to lie on the bed. He motioned Carol over and whispered something to her and then did the same to Margo. In the meantime Jessica was whispering to Kelly and Kelly responded "You are a nasty girl, aren't you? Feel free, just wait a minute." Carol crawled onto the bed. "Kelly, baby, let's get you sitting up a little and comfortable. I think you're going to need something to drink and I'm not sure that Harry and you are though for the night." "Okay... sounds good... you hold me for awhile?" "Sure baby, not a problem. I was going to suggest that if you didn't." Carol sat with her back against pillows propped on the headboard and Kelly came to sit between her legs, using her as a backstop. Kelly said "Well if you're going to, come on, you nasty little Angel, you." Jessica crawled up in the bed, licked the insides of Kelly's thighs several times and then proceeded to bury her face in Kelly's freshly-fucked-and-filled cunt, sucking out the mixture of Kelly and Harry. Kelly stroked her hair as the girl ate her. "Yeah, you a nasty little girl... wasn't thinking of poppin' this cherry of yours when I started out this evening." Kelly's breathing started to become erratic. "You know what? This kinky little bitch's about to get me off again." "Oh damn, don't it suck to be you?" Carol said, caressing her lover's breasts as she nibbled on her neck. "Oh yeah, it's just bad luck to me, girl, just bad luck to be me." As Kelly shuddered from another orgasm, Jessica crawled up her body and kissed her deeply. Kelly kissed her back and thought to herself just how surprised she was by Jessica's willingness, eagerness, to explore her sexuality. When the kiss broke, Kelly said, "Hey Harry, you know, you and I taste pretty good together. I mean, we aren't going to put Reese's Peanut Butter Cups out of business, but we ain't bad." Harry smiled. "You ready, Baby Girl?" "Ahyup." "Do it." Before Kelly knew it her arms were locked by Carol's from behind and her legs were pinioned to the bed by her legs as well. Margo slipped a pillow between Kelly's head and Carol's. "You see Kelly, one thing I've learned about being part of a group thing, like this marriage, is that you have allies ready and willing to help you when you seek revenge. And while Carol might not have agreed to hold you down if given a choice, I don't have to give her a choice. And Margo, well, Margo just enjoys causing trouble, don't you my love?" "Sure do, sweetheart. So Kelly, I'm going to let Harry rest up a bit more while I take the first shift of tickling your luscious little body." The tickling began and Kelly laughed until she cried and then Harry came on duty and she squirmed and screamed and then had Margo kissing her as a gag and Harry could only watch her move beneath his hands for so long before he was licking her pussy again and Carol was caressing her from behind and kissing the back of her neck and Jessica was on one side and Margo on the other and they molested her as well. It didn't take the four of them long to get her going and, malevolent as they were, they played her body hard, not letting up on their stimulation until she pleaded and begged them to stop. Harry went to the minibar and got her an orange juice from the minibar. "Rest up Lady Kay. Methinks you owe this young wench a taste of your sword work tonight." "Arthur... my lord... my liege... you are a bastard... and will come... to no good end." Harry collected Margo and Carol and headed for the bathroom. He caressed their asses. "I beg to differ with thee, good Lady, but it seems to me I've already come to two excellent ends." "You have a low sense of humor, my lord." Harry ran a tub for the three of them, still quite warm, but nowhere near the temperature of his earlier one. Carol made them mild peach spritzers with peach schnapps and Sprite and the three of them settled in to relax in the tub. "So Madam, when am I to be punished?" asked Carol. "I'm afraid, my impatient pet, it shall have to wait for tomorrow. But all that's on our schedule for tomorrow is brunch with our friends and the acquisition of wedding rings for Harry and I. so there should be plenty of time to give you the spanking you earned earlier this evening. Or are you so anxious that you would like something on account, so to speak?" Carol threw her arms around Margo's waist and licked her breast. "Yes, please." "Then go get me that short paddle I had you bring." Carol hopped out of the tub and skipped into the bedroom. "Margo, you're a much better 'Madam' than I am a 'Master'." "Are you okay with that, my love?" He went to her, took her in his arms and kissed her. "If you're happy and our pet is happy then I'm ecstatic." "That's not quite an answer, husband." "Yes, I'm happy, wife. Even happier as it fulfills an evident need in the two of you." Carol returned, handing the paddle to Margo and kneeling outside the tub. "Harry, sit on the edge of the tub, Little Cunt, get in here, bend over and start blowing Harry. You'd better not come while I'm spanking you, either." "Yes Madam." As Carol wrapped her lips around Harry's cock, Harry looked at his wife. "You've been doing some reading, haven't you?" She smiled as she brought the paddle down with a sharp WHACK! "Yes, beloved man, when I figured out I was going to be co-owner of little Miss Sexy here, I started doing a little research, I guess you could say." WHACK! "I found out quite a bit of the lighter aspects of it turned me on." WHACK! "In fact, it turned me on quite a bit. I just wasn't real sure how you'd feel about it, so I've been kind of downplaying it," WHACK! "since I've been home. It worries me a little, I get a little afraid of what it says about me," WHACK! "but then I remind myself that it's just something I enjoy some of the time. It wouldn't have come out now if Carol hadn't asked about her punishment. Now husband, fuck this little butt slut in the ass. Just make sure you leave me room to get to her cunt." Carol stayed in the position she'd been in, keeping her arms braced against the sides of the tub, just spreading her legs to give Margo access to her. Harry came around behind, saliva dripping off his cock. He bent down and licked her asshole to provide even more lube, felt the heat from her abused bottom on both sides of his face. He put his tip to the entrance and pushed, past the muscle rings and in. Carol's cry of pleasure and pain was short and then her moans began as his speed increased and he rammed in and out of her fist-like tightness. Margo got under Carol. "Now, little butt slut, I'm going to start doing everything I can to you to make you come. You don't have permission to, so feel free to go ahead if you want another, more painful spanking, with no ass play afterwards. If you don't want that, then I advise you not to come until I tell you to, is that clear?" "Y-yes, M-m-madam." Margo kissed Carol's clit, sucking on it, gently at first, but then with greater intensity as she tried to put her over the edge, caressed her thighs, running her fingers over her cunt lips, slipping her fingers in and out of her. She kept on and on as she teased and tormented the young woman. Finally, it seemed Carol had had all she could take. Carol's body was trembling as if in a seizure. Her knees were on the edge of buckling, her elbows, although locked, were threatening to bend at any minute. "Madam... please..." Margo got in position to catch her if she fell forward. "You may come, Baby Girl." One of Carol's hands shot towards her clit and she was coming before the finger even made contact with it. Harry held her up by her hips and just sank his cock as deeply in her ass as it would go. Her orgasm, which he could feel clearly through the thin wall separating the two cavities, brought him to climax and he came hard, realizing even in that mindless moment that he was done for the night. He thumped backward in the tub, taking Carol with him. Margo looked at the two of them and pulled Carol to her, popping Harry's deflating cock out of her ass. "Is that what you needed, precious one?" "Mmmm, yes, thank you, Madam. That's exactly what I needed. I love you." "I love you, too. More than I love anyone else but him." Carol snuggled up close to her and smiled. "Now, let's all get out, rinse off with that shower head attachment, refill this bad boy and soak some more. The water's gotten cold and that just will not do." Oil of Roses Ch. 15 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. Oil of Roses Ch. 15 As the door closed he held it together and maintained a measure of dignity in spite of his all-too-evident erection. As he moved toward the elevator he heard laughter from inside the Suite but he didn't care, as he figured out where was the closest place he could go jerk off in peace. Oil of Roses Ch. 15 "Gut, that way it won't leave a mark that the ladies will ask about." Eddy drew back his fist and Harry tried to relax but found it impossible. How is someone supposed to relax when their abdomen is ground zero for an asteroid strike? He closed his eyes. "If you're gonna do it Eddy, for fuck's sake do it and get it over with." The huge fist hit his gut with the force of... a crumpled piece of paper. His eyes shot open and he stared at Eddy. The big man's face was working as if to hold back the tears that were leaking around his eyes in spite of his efforts. "Eddy, you okay?" "Harry... when you married that screamin' skank... I thought I'd lost the best friend I've ever had... but I figured you'd finally realized what a shit head I was... then you were back and Carol told me about it bein' Angie's fault you'd dropped everyone... and I understood that... I've done stupid shit for women I've loved... and I was so glad to have my best friend back... and I was glad you were happy... and then you do this... you're the brother I never had... the one that's been there for me since we were twelve... and I love you." Harry threw his arms around Eddy. "I love you too, big man. I was so... scared... you'd tell me to fuck off after I sort of ditched you for three, four years." He let go of Eddy. "Sit down, tell me about last night. Leave out any of the real private stuff because frankly, it's none of my business, but it's evident that something happened, something pretty fine." The two old friends sat and talked until Margo came to tell them everyone was ready to go to brunch. Oil of Roses Ch. 16 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * After a somber end to the brunch, Karen and Patricia made their farewells, checked out of their room and headed home. Tamara cleared her and Eddy out of their room and transferred up to the suite. She and Margo settled in on a couch in the bedroom to talk. Harry got back from a trip to the toilet to find Margo on the room phone. When she hung up she said, "Harry, I'm taking Tamara to do a little clothes shopping and it looks like Kelly is coming with us. Do you need anything while we're out?" "Yes my love, if you can, pick up some liqueurs you think would go well with coffee... I feel many more pots of leaded coming on... a bottle of Bailey's for sure. Now that the cat's out of the bag about us buying Tamara for Eddy, we don't really have to stay here, but we do have the suite for a week, might as well enjoy it." The ladies ventured forth leaving him apparently alone in the suite. He wandered into the sitting room and found Carol, sitting in the dimness, tailor-fashion on the floor, her hands folded together in her lap. He sat down across from her and noticed that her eyes were closed. She smiled as she heard him sit. "Hello, sir." "Hello most precious one. May one inquire...?" "It's Sunday, I'm talking with God." "You're talking with God." She opened her eyes to look at him. "Sir, I don't know what religion is correct, or if any of them are. But I believe Something, somewhere, was responsible for creation. I happen to believe that It takes an interest in the lives of It's creations but I have no proof. So on Sundays, out of tradition I suppose, I try to find some time to quietly commune with that Entity." "You mind if I join you?" "No Harry, I don't mind at all." After awhile, Carol got up and left Harry sitting there. She wandered into the kitchenette and got herself an orange juice. She thought about reading the paper but realized that she really didn't care. There was nothing in the news she felt particularly compelled to keep track of. Her world was a large one, but its places of import rarely made it into the paper. She decided that a bath was always a good idea, especially if one had a Jacuzzi tub at one's disposal so she began to run herself one. In the other room Harry had finished but found he wasn't ready to get up just yet. There was something he needed to do, something he wanted to do, something it was way past time to do but he found himself reticent to do it. Finally he realized he was stalling, got up and went to grab his cell phone. * * * * * "Hey gorgeous, there enough room in that tub for me?" "Sure Harry, hop in." He climbed in to the tub. "You remember me telling you about my sister Nicki?" "Yes, Harry." "I called her this morning. We talked for a bit, I apologized to her, told her about Angie, apologized to her, told her I'd really like to see her, apologized to her, told her next week would be fine, and apologized to her one more time." "So she's coming to visit, in the middle of renovating the bathroom and putting in the pool and hot tub?" "Yeah, I told her about the state of the house but she wanted to come down anyway. Sounded like she needed to get away for a bit... I figure we'll put her up in her old room upstairs, if Kelly doesn't mind taking my old room as hers. That leaves them the upstairs bathroom and the three of us the guest bathroom downstairs. Jesus, that's gonna be tight for awhile." "Yeah Harry," she said, cuddling up next to him, "but think how glorious the master bath will be when it's finished." Harry caressed her breast. "True, room for all of us to bathe, room for all of us to love, room for all of us to shower... God, it'll be positively sybaritic." "Sybaritic... good word for it... inside of two months it'll all be finished," she said. Harry's cell phone went off in the other room. He climbed out of the tub, wrapped himself in a towel and went off to answer it. "Yeah, Eddy... OH SHIT! Oh God man, I am so sorry. It completely slipped both our minds! Oh, please apologize to the two of them for me and I'll apologize to them too and there'll be a bonus for them and oh shit I'm really sorry. Okay, we'll see you when you get here... bye." He padded back into the bathroom, his face flushed with embarrassment. "We forgot to mention that at some point in the next week, some gentlemen would be delivering your bequest." "Oh no," she giggled, "so some Italian gentlemen show up and drop something off and Perry and Bevy go on full alert?" "No, not exactly... a rather large truck showed up and dropped off 178 small but very heavy crates of vinyl record albums as well as 8 larger crates of electronics equipment and speakers. The boys made sure the smaller crates were ok but they didn't have the equipment to check out the electronics for bombs or other nasty surprises, so they called Eddy who brought the equipment. It all checked out. As I'm assuming Tony was the gentleman with the vinyl collection you spoke of, it appears you've inherited it." "Oh my God, Harry. Over five thousand albums, all of them in perfect, or near perfect, condition... a system that can play them with absolute fidelity... a turntable you could fuck next to without disturbing thanks to the vibration dampening set-up... he left me the most precious possessions he had. He left me the only thing he really could, I imagine. Anything else his family would've gone batshit and fought in court but they never considered his vinyl to be anything but an old man's folly of a hobby." "Well, Baby Girl, it's your folly now." Harry climbed back into the tub. "I've never asked about your past much but now seems like a good time to, while we have a soak. Feel like talking about it?" "I suppose so. You know I left college my freshman year. I was nineteen. I knew how I wanted my life to be and so I went in search of someone to collar me. I ended up owned by a guy named Dick Laney who I'd met while exploring the scene before I left school. He still is pretty much a mover and shaker in certain circles and if you are kind and we make the Fetish Ball this year, I'll point him out to you. His was the multi-slave harem I was in, so I learned very early that I wasn't cut out for that kind of service. He was also very generous with his friends and that meant that even though he's kind of a shithead, he's got lots of 'friends'. I think I got loaned out to most of them. I was with him about five months and it felt like five years. It wasn't that he's a bad man or a bad owner or a bad Master, I just don't think he's a very good one either, and he's certainly not the one for me. One night we were in The Elysian Fields, a club down on Guadalupe and I'd displeased him somehow, so I was tongue-bathing his boots when this elderly gentleman came up. It was Tony, although we didn't know it at the time. He seemed very frail and infirm, but confident. He pulled out five grand, put it on the table and bet that against me that he could make Dick shit himself by only saying two words. Dick laughed and said sure, no problem, he'd take the man's money. They shook on it and Tony said "kill him". "All of a sudden Tony's boys, who nobody had noticed closing in around us all drew down on Dick and he's staring at all this hardware, none of them more than a foot from his face and he shit himself. Tony picked up his five grand, offered me his hand and told Dick to give one of his boys his address. He said that someone would be by the next day around noon to pick up my stuff and it all better be ready by then. That started my three year relationship with Tony Juliana." "Jesus Christ, he took you away from Dick with style." "Yeah, Tony had a lot of that type of style. He always said he was old, he'd survived Prohibition and gangland wars, he'd survived his wife and kids, he didn't have to put up with shit anymore. He said the worst anyone could do to him was kill him and at his age, that wasn't much of a threat. He knew he didn't have many years left to him and he'd decided he wanted to see and do a lot of things he wouldn't have otherwise. He'd always known the whole BDSM scene existed and it interested him but he'd never really explored it. So he'd gone to The Elysian Fields that night and being a gentleman had come to this little pet's rescue, not understanding really that I didn't exactly need rescue, although I sure as hell wanted it. "Luckiest night of my life... for the next two years we went places and met people and saw things... oh, Harry. Anytime you wonder how I know something or where I met someone or how in the world did I ever hear about thus and so, it was probably because of those two years. There was no place his money and reputation couldn't get us into... and there are some stories I could tell and some stories it'd be better if I didn't even remember. If we wanted to meet someone or get invited to a certain party, Tony turned on the charm, made with the money, dropped names if he had to and we were in. A lot of times, the charm was all that he needed. He was incredibly well-read and very well-spoken... he wasn't your typical mobster. He liked to call himself a 'student of the human condition with a lot of lab experience'. He was a witty, funny man. Which made some of what we saw together even harder to keep a straight face through. "Harry, you remember that woman, used to be mayor, big in real estate? I've seen her kneeling naked, getting a cum shower from twelve men then getting it washed off by a golden shower from the same dicks. And she was the fucking mayor at the time! I've seen that Robert Milton guy, the ex-televangelist, gobbling cock like he was at a hot-dog-eating contest and let me tell you, his mouth works just at fast sucking dick as it does preaching and praying. "There are still places in this town where you can get anything and anyone you want, for a price. There are places where you can watch any sex act you can imagine being performed, or for even more money, join in. I'm pretty sure we saw most of them. "We went out to a little concrete bunker in the hills one night, watched some people making what was supposed to be a hardcore porn film with some S & M elements. This big bitch, six foot four, built like a goddess of war, is fucking this pretty young boy, couldn't have been more than sixteen, seventeen, she's on top and he tells her he's about to come and she... she... she shoved..." Carol's composure had dissolved into tears. "Carol, Baby Girl, shhhh, whatever it is that's upsetting you about this, you don't have to say anymore.""No, no I do. She shoved an ice pick in the soft spot on his temple and rotated it, wrenched it around in there... and she was coming while she did it... we were watching them make a snuff flick... I screamed and Tony and his boys got me out of there. Tony apologized to me for hours later... he thought it was just a normal S&M porn shoot. "Two weeks later, I was helping him get ready for bed and he told me that I didn't have to worry about those people ever making another movie like that. Like an idiot I asked him if he'd had them arrested. He said no, he'd had the boys find out who their distributors were and delivered the filmmakers to them in pieces. I asked him about the woman who actually did it. He just looked at me and said there were things I really didn't want to know. About a year later I could have sworn I saw her turning tricks on 8th Street. The woman's arms had so many track marks on them they looked like railroad yards, a lot of her teeth were broken off and she was definitely working the low rent end of the street. She didn't look like a goddess of war, she looked like a crack whore in the last days of her life and if it was her, it would've been much kinder of them to kill her. I doubt you'll find anybody in this area to this day who'll consider making snuff films. "After that, I told him I'd heard rumors about a House on the south side that dealt in children, under the age of fourteen, but I never wanted to see it and if he went there I never wanted to hear about it or what happened afterwards. He and the boys would go out without me on occasion, maybe one of those nights they visited there. All I know is I never heard of the place again. "I don't want you to think that places like those were the only places we went. We went to the symphony, the opera and to the theater. We'd go to clubs that played big band, swing and jazz. We'd go dancing. Of course he didn't have too much use for modern music but I even got him into Absinthe & Opium, a goth club downtown. He never quite got 'goth' or the music and I had no luck explaining it to him. "After every concert or symphony, after every live performance of music, he'd hunt and peck out at least a paragraph, sometimes much more, on an old typewriter he had. I asked him what he was doing the first time I saw him do it. He explained he was putting down his impressions of the music, the performers, the whole experience, so he could always remember it the way it was that very night. I asked him how long he'd been doing that. He said he'd been doing it all his life. I imagine his family's thrown them away, but Harry, just from stories he'd tell, what was in some of those notes... there probably wasn't a big band he didn't see live. He saw Enrico Caruso perform several times. He caught most of the Rat Pack's Vegas shows while they were there to film the original "Ocean's 11", even hung out with them. He was acquainted with Beverly Sills and Luciano Pavarotti, hell, he knew a lot of opera's biggest stars over his lifetime. He used to take them out to dinner or throw parties for them when he and they were in the same town. He and Duke Ellington were on a first name basis with each other. "If I had to define Tony by just one attribute it would be his love of music. From the notes he took to his album collection to the joy he took in hearing me sing. The radio was on the classical or golden oldies station almost all day long. When he played a record, it was almost like going to church. He'd pull out the album, carefully remove the disc from its sleeve, lovingly clean it, clean the stylus, put it on and settle in to listen. We didn't talk, we didn't read, we didn't do anything but listen when an album was playing ... no humming along, no singing along, no other extraneous sounds. We listened. He always said that you don't read a book and look at a painting at the same time, you don't watch television and examine a piece of sculpture simultaneously, music is art and should be treated as such. I never touched one of his albums, he didn't offer and I didn't ask. Those were his holy icons and I wasn't a member of the priesthood. I guess I am now. Hell Harry, it sounds like I've inherited the temple. "We lived together, along with his bodyguards, in a suite of apartments in the old Arco Tower building. He was still married, of course, no divorce for a good Catholic, but both he and his wife were happy with him living away from the house, so we had our privacy. Tony and I never did much with each other. He was too old and in too much pain a lot of the time, although only his bodyguards and I knew it, but by God he got to see what he wanted to see. And when he was feeling up to it, we had some very good times together. But mostly I was his companion, someone young and pretty for him to look at. "Then, the last year of his life, I was his nursemaid as well. I loved him, Harry. Not the way I love you, or Margo or even Kelly, but I loved him. He was good to me, he was kind and he was a gentleman. So when he got sick and wanted me to leave I told him in no uncertain terms that he'd have to make me go because I knew in his heart he didn't want me to. He hired a nurse and outfitted the apartment so he wouldn't have to go to the hospital till the very end. On his good days he and I could ignore all the damn machines and the nurse and pretend he wasn't dying. Those were some bittersweet days, Harry, when I could forget what he'd been most of his life and hold him and tell him honestly that I wished I'd known him when he was younger. "Eventually the day came he had to go to the hospital and we all knew it was the last trip, so I packed up what I absolutely needed into two small suitcases and went to live at the hospital. Vic made sure the family knew that when they came to see him I'd be nowhere around but none of them ever made the trip. They were so angry at that sick old man for shit that had happened over the years that they risked pissing off Vic just to snub him. I suppose they had their reasons. I'll never believe they were valid enough to leave an old man dying alone but then again what I believe doesn't matter. They didn't come. Late one night he called me over to his bed side, and he looked at me and said "Gimme a kiss, sugar, I got to go"... and I did... and he left..." Harry took the weeping woman in his arms and stroked her hair. Her sobs shook the two of them for a long time. "God, I wish you'd have been able to meet him, Harry... he would've liked you... you would've liked him..." "Anyway, after he passed, Vic put me up in a hotel until the funeral but after the graveside I did a vanishing act because Phil had been eyeing me for years. I was so alone. For three years I'd had this man as my owner, my companion, someone who'd been unfailingly polite and kind even when he was in so much pain that morphine was doing nothing for him, even then he was always a gentleman to me. "And he was gone and I had some money and two small suitcases and no owner and nowhere to go. I was staying with a girl I knew and her Master, a repulsive little toad of a man named Morgan, who was starting to eye me, so I was out actively looking when I found Paul, Paul Sands, a high school English teacher. A nice enough guy, rather new to the scene, had a real taste for it. The only problem with him was he liked watching me get fucked by other guys and like I told you, I'm monogamous when it comes to men. We'd been together for over a year when one of his resumes landed him a job offer in Michigan to teach at a private school. He couldn't afford to take me with him." "But honey, if Paul was going to work at a private school, surely they were paying him more money, even with cost of living differences." "Harry, you ought to know, there's 'affording' in the fiscal sense and 'affording' in the social sense. As a new teacher at a private school he was going to be under the microscope and a live-in slave didn't fit the school image. I didn't want to leave here anyway. All my friends and contacts are here; in Michigan, I knew nobody. When he left I went to work in a Denny's, earned just enough to keep a roof over my head and while I had food if I was working, I wasn't working all the time. So, Rick came along and I knew better but I was tired and I was hungry and I wanted out of the life I was in. I'd been with Rick about 7 months when I wandered into the Pearl and saw you trying to drown yourself in alcohol." Oil of Roses Ch. 16 "Carol, what would you have done if I hadn't collared you? Would you have gone back to Rick?" "Maybe, sir... I know I was scrambling for excuses to stay with you just a little longer, hoping you'd get the hint. I was even trying to work up the courage to tell you how to make it happen, if you wanted it to. I'd like to think I'd have gone in, packed up my shit and left him... but he'd been beating me for 7 months and I hadn't left yet so I probably would have been stupid and stayed." The two of them sat in the tub while they held each other and snuggled together, once again lost in the feelings that had brought them together in the first place. They had a bond that only others who had been where they had been, broken and dying inside, could understand. * * * * * Benjamin Sapperstein had been having a shitty week. He had been so paranoid about setting up airtight pre-nuptials... Margo and her lawyer had insisted on equal protection for both parties so there was absolutely no way he could screw the bitch over. She wouldn't get anything that wasn't, he was forced to admit to himself, rightfully hers, including half the assets of the surgical practice, but he really wanted to nail her to a wall. And there was nothing he could do to her. So, to relax on a Sunday afternoon, he decided to take a drive in his Diablo. * * * * * It had been a whirlwind shopping trip. They had hit five different stores across town, along with a brief stop at Le Madeleine's, primarily for the benefit of Tamara, to have some divine French onion soup, fresh baked bread and coffee. They arrived back the hotel hot, tired and loaded with packages which the bellmen were more than happy to help them take upstairs. Not having warned Harry and Carol they were on their way up Margo said "No show this trip, boys", tipped them and had them leave the packages at the door. They entered the suite to find Harry and Carol curled up together on the bedroom couch, cuddling. "Harry, my love, my husband, would you be a manly man and help Kelly carry in the packages we've got outside the door?" "My beloved wife, you have but to ask," he said, hugging her on his way past. "Carol, come give me a kiss and then get down on your knees," she said as she sank onto the couch. "Clothes shopping with Kelly shouldn't be undertaken lightly. I almost raped her in every store we hit today." Carol bent and kissed Margo, accepting her tongue deep into her mouth. She dropped to her knees and began removing her Madam's skirt. Next shoes and hose, then panties and finally she was able to sink her face between Margo's thighs. The pungent mixtures of old desire, new passion, sweat and body odors were intoxicating to her, a heady aroma of reality instead of some perfumed, soap-scented fantasy. Carol burrowed down and came up with Margo's legs on her shoulders. She attacked Margo's cunt, her mouth a blur of motion as she tried to lick, nibble and kiss everywhere at once. Her arms wrapped around Margo's thighs like restraints; Margo could swear she heard them lock into position. For her part, Margo felt as if she'd suddenly had a rabid ferret listening to the all-Barry White station on a double-espresso-laced aphrodisiac turned loose on her cunt. She wasn't being teased or titillated toward an orgasm, she was being jack-hammered toward one and while that wasn't unusual during intercourse with a man, she'd never had it happen during oral sex from either gender. The stimulation rode the edge of her enjoyment of pain. There was only one thing she could think to do, grab hold of Carol's head and hold on. Carol brought Margo through her first orgasm like a runaway freight train, scarcely leaving her mistress time to enjoy it before carrying her on towards another. As she continued to power-fuck Margo with her tongue, among many other stimuli, Harry and Kelly brought the last of the packages in. They joined Tamara as she watched Margo and Carol, the three of them slightly aghast at the ferocity of Carol's oral assault. "What in the name of God got into her?" Harry asked. "I don't know, Harry," Kelly replied, "but if she was going at me like that I'd be backing my ass away as fast as I could." "Kelly, I don't think it would help," Tamara observed, "I think you'd look like a prey animal running away. That could be bad." "Oh God... Baby Girl... fuck me..." moaned Margo. Carol's left arm unlocked from Margo's thigh and pointed unerringly at Kelly even though the woman was behind her. She snapped her fingers, pointed to her crotch, made a stroking motion and then locked her arm back around her Madam's thigh. Kelly went and retrieved the other strap-on and knelt behind Carol. She carefully fit the harness around Carol's body and made sure it was snug before she tightened the straps down. Her job finished she rose and stepped back to rejoin Harry and Tamara. Carol's arms unlocked and her hands moved up, smoothly undoing Margo's blouse and unhooking her brassiere. Her body moved up Margo's body and as their crotches came together Carol slid her dildo into Margo and began to fuck her furiously as her mouth lowered to Margo's breasts to savagely chew and suck on them. Margo's sudden scream turned into a cry of longing as her hands caught the sides of Carol's head, not to force it away as the onlookers had expected, but to pull it closer to her, as she forced the buzzsaw of Carol's mouth harder into her breast. Margo was somewhere beyond her previous pain limits and although she knew in some part of her mind that she would pay for the experience with soreness and tenderness in the days to come, she no longer cared. Her orgasms no longer seemed to have beginnings or ends, just slight lulls when the sensations from the rest of her body were louder than the screaming pleasure of her cunt. Tufts of Carol's hair were loose in her fists and she felt her pet's fingers as they dug into her back and bruised her. Carol didn't notice when Margo's hands let loose of her head and began to wave feebly, but Harry and Kelly did. They moved over to pull Carol off of her. "Little Cunt, relax, calm down," Harry whispered into her ear, "Madam has had enough and it's time for you to come away now." Carol's eyes weren't focusing and her breathing was shallow and very rapid as Harry sat next to her on the floor. "Take it easy, beloved and just calm down." In the meantime Kelly was helping Margo to sit back up on the couch, a difficult task given Margo's jello-like state. As Carol caught her breath and Margo slowly regained sentience, Harry and Kelly sat and looked at each other. "Damn, that was like watching an industrial machinery demo," Harry said. "I was thinking more of an episode of 'When Animals Attack' myself," Kelly said, "but I'll go along with yours." Carol unstrapped herself and crawled over to Margo. "Oh Madam, I am so sorry," she said, tears filling her eyes, "I've hurt you and I apologize." "Shhhh," Margo replied, "I asked for it, I enjoyed it and you did very well. Now come here and let me hold you." Carol crawled up onto the couch with her and Margo held her tightly in her arms, kissing the top of her head. "Yes, I'm going to be a bit sore, but you did what I wanted you to, Baby Girl. You did well, my precious one. After we rest a minute we can go bathe, I'll wash you and you'll wash me." Kelly sat with Harry on the floor. Together they watched Margo and Carol snuggle on the couch. "Tamara," Harry said, "I'm sorry I didn't think of telling you this sooner, but Eddy called. Everything's okay, we neglected to tell him and the boys about a delivery. Then he called back and said there was a little business he had to tend to and that he'd be back in time to take you to supper." "It's okay, Harry, you had other things on your mind. I hope it's alright if I wait for him here." "Tamara, if you don't mind the floorshow, you're welcome to stay as long as you like." The small woman smiled sweetly at him and went to the sitting room to gaze out at the city below. "Harry," Kelly said, "come cuddle with me on the bed for awhile." "An invitation I'll rarely pass up," Harry answered. "That's because you're a very wise man," Margo observed. "Thank you my dear. You two have a good bath, whenever you get there." "You two have a good snuggle and whatever it develops into." Harry and his wife smiled at each other as he and Kelly headed for the bed. "Harry," Carol said before he got too far away, "I think I know someone who might be worth talking to about rings for the two of you. She's a real craftsman, does beautiful work. Should I call and set up an appointment?" "Sure darling, you think she could see us today?" "Probably later this evening... she prefers to work at night during the hotter months." "Sounds fine to me if it sounds fine to the missus." "Works for me, wonderful husband." "Make the call, sweetie." * * * * * Kelly had shucked her clothing and thrown on a robe when she joined Harry, also robed, on the bed. She lay down close to him and he put his arms around her. "I gather from the fact that you haven't attacked me, you little sex maniac," Harry said, "that this isn't one of those kinds of cuddles and is in fact a comfort cuddle." "You're right. I'm scared, Harry. Scared of what I'm feeling about Jess and women in general, scared about moving in with y'all, scared about a lot of things." "Okay Sunshine, let's handle them one at a time. What's got you scared about Jess?" "Harry, until a little under two weeks ago, I'd never even been in a relationship with a woman. Now I'm in a sometimes fuck-buddy, sometimes slave relationship with two women and I'm developing pretty strong 'serious' feelings about another woman. It's not that I'm giving up on men," she said as her hand briefly caressed Harry's cock, "it's just that aside from you and Eddy, there aren't any I really want to let get near me. Not to mention that I'd jump in the middle of Karen and Patricia with a moment's notice and let the two of them do any goddamn thing they wanted to me. I've gone from having the occasional deeply erotic fantasy about a woman to thinking maybe I'm heading towards the lesbian side of bisexuality. I haven't had a boyfriend since high school and I've been telling myself it was because during the school year I was too damn busy and during the summer I was still too damn busy and I'm wondering if the truth isn't something different. I mean, I still find men attractive, but while we were out shopping today I saw lots of very cute guys, and they registered on my radar as such, but I saw quite a few women that I would've knocked to the ground and fucked right then and there if I could've." "I don't know, do you think that maybe you're intoxicated by the possibilities of this new sexuality you're exploring and that like with anything new, it's going to be awhile before you 'want to play with any of your old toys', so to speak?" She looked up into his eyes. "You think that might be it?" "Might be... and even if it isn't, so what if you're mostly a lesbian? So what if you're totally lesbian? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love being intimate with you, but if it turns out that you're really into women and not at all into men, I'll wish you the best of luck and remember our time together fondly. Why don't you just relax about it and see where things lead and where you end up?" "Yeah, sounds like a good plan... now, about me moving in with y'all. I'm really scared that no matter what the two of them said, they're going to think somehow that I'm trying to write myself into y'all's situation." "That's why you'll have your own bedroom, Kelly. That's why you'll have to have their permission to sleep with us, should you want to on occasion. I understand some of your fear, I think, and it seems to me Jess is the best cure for that potential problem. If you and your girlfriend are in your room, humping like wild buffalo, nobody's really going to get too jealous about you trying to horn in on our marriage. Quite the opposite, given the way Margo, Carol and I feel about you, we'll be jealous of Jess." Harry smiled. "You're great fun to play with and we all love you very much." "Okay Harry, I see what you're saying and maybe I'm looking for trouble where there isn't any. It's just been bugging me." "So Sunshine, what else is bothering you?" "Nothing else major, really... little petty shit like if this thing with Jess works out, the whole 'dealing with the parents' thing. I mean, I'm pretty sure my mom will be cool with it, just as I'm sure my dad will have a seizure. Her parents, I have no clue, but that whole eighteen year old thing is going to be a problem I imagine. It's getting closer to the start of the school year and I always get a little weird about that." "What are you majoring in, by the way?" "Harry, I'm starting my junior year, my course load this term is heavy on theology and history and I'm undeclared. I haven't a clue." "And that isn't worrying you?" "No, that I came to terms with a long time ago. I'm content to go to school, exploring my options, as long as I can afford to do so. I work my ass off over the summer, usually, to make sure I have enough for the next school year. Sooner or later, my decision will make itself and I'll be okay with it. I can't stand these shitheads who come in with this big 'I've known I was going for my MBA since I was in 1st grade'. When I was in junior high I got a little worried about it and my mom, who hasn't steered me wrong yet, gave me some valuable advice. She said she didn't really know what she wanted to be until she'd decided to be something else and then lost her sight, so I shouldn't worry about it. Sooner or later, my decision would make itself. She teaches blind children now, most of them blind from birth, and she's made it her constant goal to find ways to help them imagine what sight is like because she remembers it. She's happier than she's ever been, a damn sight happier than she was working for an insurance company." "What about your father?""Dad is special case in and of himself. Dad worked as a correctional officer at the federal minimum security pen near here pretty much all his life, until mom was blinded. He resigned that day because she needed him. Now she has him teaching blind children as well. I always knew my father was one of the gentlest men on the planet, now so many more children are getting to know that side of the man. He's happier than ever, he works close to mom and even though she's fully capable of taking care of herself, she'll never stop needing him... they're the best proof I know of that love endures and triumphs." "Any brothers and sisters... any more like you still at home... any more Culbersons I need to worry about?" "No, I was their first child and only one. After me the doctors told mom it would be wiser if she didn't get pregnant again. It was dangerous enough for her to have me. But Harry, I'm feeling talked out. Right now, I just want to be held by my friend Harry. That okay with you?" Harry wrapped both arms around her and molded his body to hers. "Sounds wonderful to me," he whispered in her ear. "You keep that up," she murmured, "and before too long we'll be doing more than cuddling." * * * * * "Well Margo, we have an appointment for 9:30 this evening with Tatiana. That should give you and me plenty of tub time and plenty of time for us all to do supper." She bowed her head. "It will even give Madam time to punish me for hurting her, should she so desire." Margo raised her head and kissed her lips, gently and sweetly. "Baby, no need for punishment, you didn't do a thing I wasn't wanting you to. Now stop worrying about it. I certainly won't hesitate to have you rub me down and apply ointment to some sore spots, but there's no punishment called for. I just want to know, what set you off like that? There are definitely times I'm going to want to recreate the experience." "Margo, first off, I love a fresh clean lover, I have nothing against the smell of soap and deodorant and shampoo. But it's artificial. Ideally, I want my lover coming out of a bath having used soaps and shampoos and such that are as close to neutral in scent as possible. If clean and scented rates a six, clean and unscented, or damn near, rates an eight. If my lover smells 'real'... sweaty, pheromone charged, old secretions and new... now not too old mind you, not skanky, just... marinated a bit... well, that rates a ten. The way you smelled under that skirt after shopping with Kelly was about a fifteen. Another hour and you probably would have been at a three but the way it all came together, oh my God, Margo, I'm surprised I didn't literally start eating you." "I think you were having a debate about that when you got to my tits." Margo smiled reassuringly to head off any more apologies. "So that's what had you so supercharged, huh, I was well-marinated?" "Yes ma'am, you certainly were. There's something about it that hits my 'primal' button and it seems we're all becoming real aware of what that means." She smiled. "That's another thing I love about being with you and Harry, ma'am, is that I can let that out and you don't mind. It's really a blessing and I do appreciate it." Margo took her pet in her arms. "Believe me, you little primitive, we don't mind at all," she said, just before she kissed her. * * * * * In the sitting room, Tamara straightened the bedclothes on the hide-a-bed and curled up on top of them. The shopping trip with Margo and Kelly had been wonderful. They'd treated her like one of them instead of some man's sex toy... but then again, that's not all she was to Edward. Their love for him was obvious, maybe that's why they were so nice to her. She was happy. She'd be happier when Edward returned, but she was happy. She was also very tired so she drifted off to sleep. * * * * * Benjamin Sapperstein pulled up to the private garage where he paid a service to maintain his Diablo and store it. He used the same service on his and Margo's cars so it didn't look suspicious on his credit card statements; he needed to remember to drop hers from the contract. He pulled out his keys, unlocked the door and slid it up. There was no Lamborghini Diablo. There was a small box with an envelope on top. Like a man in shock Benjamin walked over, picked up the envelope, opened it and read the page inside. "Benjamin "The Diablo is gone. I sold it for one hundred thousand. Not as much as I could've gotten if I'd wanted to wait, but I was in a hurry. I had a bed to buy. "So while you're mourning the loss of your penis-enhancement, and let's be frank, your penis needs all the enhancement it can get, I and my lovers will be fucking our brains out on a beautiful huge bed I bought with some of the money I got for selling MY car. "Thinking of you and laughing my ass off, "Margo "P. S. I left you a little something to replace it with." The small box the envelope had rested on was a model kit of a Lamborghini Diablo. "BIIIIIIIIIITCH!" came the scream from a soul in Hell. * * * * * Eddy knocked gently at the bedroom door of the suite. Carol opened it wearing a robe and a towel on her head. She bounced up and tried to kiss his cheek. He bent down to let her. "Hey Eddy, I am so sorry I forgot to mention to your boys about Vic's boys making that delivery but with everything that was happening..." "Shhhh, it's okay," he said, "I'm surprised you and Harry remembered as much as y'all did, given your visit with Fat Phillie. That don't mean I ain't gonna razz Harry about it for years to come, but in reality, no problem. Where's Tamara?" "She went out with Margo and Kelly to do some shopping and was a little tired when they got back so I think she's crashed out in the sitting room. What were you up to this afternoon?" Oil of Roses Ch. 16 "Oh, preparing a little surprise for Tamara." He knelt down next to her. "I owe you a lot for putting the two of us together. I know Harry did the actual buying, but you had the idea. No matter what happens between any of us or all of us, even if Tamara and I part ways tomorrow, last night... was worth the world to me, and I won't ever forget it." "Eddy, sweetie, as long as you're happy, then the debt's repaid a thousand times over. Now enough mushy stuff or I'll cry. Tell me about the surprise you've planned for Tamara." "We're stayin' here a couple of days. I've rented us a new place, much nicer, much larger, much better part of town, gated with a real live guard from a company I trust at the gates 24/7 and I'm having what I want from my place moved in, won't be much and once that's done, she and I'll be decorating it." Carol let out a squeal as she hugged and kissed him. "Eddy, she's gonna love that! We're going to go see Tatiana this evening about rings for Harry and Margo, do you want to come with?" Eddy looked at her with a half smile. "You know, you're a real smart girl. Yeah, I'd love to. I've been thinking about something like that." "Okay Eddy, while she'd love a ring, she'd be even happier with a collar of some kind, and Tatiana makes some that are beautiful and don't look like collars. They look like jewelry, but they're collars, just the same... thought I'd mention that." "Uh huh... just thought you'd mention that, did you?" "Yeah, just in case you were, you know, wondering." "How do Harry and Margo survive you being so helpful?" "I figure it's going to involve a lot of therapy at some point, probably some primal screaming as well." * * * * * While Eddy went in to wake up Tamara, Margo went to wake up Harry and Kelly. She paused a moment before she did so to stand by the bed and watch them sleep. In the reverse of what she expected to see, Kelly had an arm thrown protectively over Harry as he lay curled up, almost fetal, next to her. Harry's face looked troubled and by watching carefully she could see the flicker of movement beneath his eyelids. She wondered what was going on in his dreams. Indeed she wondered if any of them would ever be completely free of their personal demons. One thing she knew for sure though was that having each other made them so much easier to bear. * * * * * The six of them went to dinner together and weren't surprised at all when the maitre de showed them to a small room off the rear of the main restaurant. Eddy pulled Harry off to one side. "Okay Harry, listen the fuck up, this is how it's going to be. I'm covering some of the cost of the 'oddball twins' watching your place this week. Since they were retained as security, not house-sitters, they're charging you two hundred a day, for a total of fourteen hundred. I'm covering a thousand of that to pay you back what you spent to rescue Tamara." "You don't have to..." "I said this is how it's going to be, Harry. You wanna argue about it, I'll win, you'll be in pain and I'll have a lot of people pissed at me, but I'll still win. Can we avoid me having all them people pissed at me? If you want to throw in a bonus for the boys because of the unexpected delivery this morning, that's fine. I'm not going to charge you for the time or use of the portable x-ray scanners and fiber optic camera rigs I brought out to check the problem boxes." "Damn Eddy, that's big of you, I mean about the bonus for the boys. You'll actually let me pay them one if I want to?" "Don't be a comedian Harry. I need this to be straight between us. I'm thankful for what you and Carol done, but I need this to be something I don't feel I owe you nothin' but gratitude for." "Okay big man, if that's what you need, that's what you get. So, we're square now? Everything's on the up and up?" "Yeah Harry, everything's fine." "Good, can we go eat because I'm fucking starved?" The two old friends moved to the table and sat down. Their waiter took their drink orders. Harry called Carol to him, whispered in her ear, patted her on the butt and she went off. "Where'd little Cute and Sexy go?" Eddy asked. "As opposed to big Cute and Sexy," he said, smiling at Margo. "Oh, I had an errand I needed her to run," Harry replied. He went into a hurried consultation with his wife. She nodded vigorously. After Carol returned she handed something in an envelope to Margo and sat down. The waiter returned with their drinks and everyone was more than ready to order supper. After they were finished and the waiter had left, Harry went over and squatted by Eddy. "Have you told Tamara about the new apartment yet?" he whispered. "No, I was waiting for a good time... seems like this could be it." "I agree, we'll toast it after you make the announcement." Harry went back to his seat. "Uh, can I have y'all's attention? Thanks," Eddy said. "Knowing how hard it is for little Cute and Sexy to keep a happy secret, I figure everyone here but the one who most deserves to know this already does." He turned, picked Tamara up and stood her on her chair. "Theresa, I couldn't take you to the shithole I lived in. No matter what you or anyone else says, I know you deserve better. So this afternoon I went and found us a new place. It's larger, in a much nicer neighborhood, great security, in a beautiful complex. You and I are staying here for the next few days while it's made ready and the few things I want from my old place are moved in. I figure we can run over there tomorrow whenever you want for you to take a look... and if you don't like it, we'll find someplace else, no problem." "I'm sure I'll love it if you chose if for us, Edward." "Okay, then when it's ready you and I will go buy furniture and such to decorate it and move in. I've got most of my last bonus check, plus another paycheck coming in next week, so money's no problem. We'll be able to get whatever you want, as long as you don't start goin' too high-class on me." "I have simple tastes, Edward." "You must," he said nervously, "you like me." "Yes Edward, I like you. More importantly, I love you." She threw her arms around him and kissed him. Harry stood up and raised his drink. "To Eddy, to Tamara and to their new apartment; long lives, full of love and many happy years in their new home!" The toast was echoed and as Harry sat down, Margo stood up and went around to Eddy, handing him an envelope. "This is to help decorate the new place." Eddy opened it to find fifteen hundred dollars. "I can't take this..." "You can, Eddy, and you will," Margo replied. "I understand why you couldn't accept our first gift, I do. But this one you can and you will, or Carol, Kelly and I are going to kick your fucking ass and we know you'll just try to stop us, you won't hurt us. Even doing that might get one or two of us hurt and you don't want that, so just take the gift, shut up and let us show how much we love you." "Yes ma'am." "Good boy. Tamara, be extra special nice to him tonight... he's having a hard day." She smiled as she kissed him on the cheek and then went back to her seat. As Eddy and Tamara sat down, Tamara looked over at him. "Edward, would you hold me in your lap?""Sure," he said, picking her up and moving her over. "You feel okay?" She smiled at him. "Yes, I feel fine. I just want to be close to you right now." She kissed his neck and snuggled close. "Besides, I really like the way I fit into your lap and shoulder." "So do I, Theresa," he murmured, kissing the top of her head and stroking her hair, "so do I." * * * * * "...so my cousin Nancy had slipped us the information she got from her boyfriend's gawddamn brother that the DEA was gonna hit this big patch of fields out in Polk county, when she wasn't slippin' Harry some tongue AND I NEVER WANT TO KNOW WHAT ELSE, HARRY! So we knew when they're gonna hit 'em and we figured to go in and do a little harvestin' of our own a couple of nights before they got there and burned all that beautiful dope. Two nights before the DEA were scheduled to make their raid me, Harry, Margie Delgado, Cathy Breeden and Freaky Frank Wells take a trip down there in Freaky's Jeep Wagoneer. We got this map from my cousin Nancy and like the sweet innocents we was we parked the jeep, took our garbage bags and went trundlin' across the surroundin' countryside on a late night stroll, lookin' for the dope fields. We found 'em..." "Boy-goddamn-howdy, did we ever find them!" Harry exclaimed. "Yep, there they were and some of the prettiest Mexican Sativa plants I've ever laid eyes on... thousands of 'em... there wasn't a soft nipple or limp dick in the group. We had died and gone to dope smoker's heaven. So we held our shit together, because the urge to grab some, eat it, get naked and run through those fields was mighty strong, and we started harvestin' buds. Pretty soon there was no room left in anybody's garbage bags, so we hiked back to the car and all of us were fuckin' scroungin' for anything else to store dope in because we'd hit the mother lode and walkin' away from it was killin' us. But there was nothin' else, so Harry here came up with a brilliant fuckin' plan." "Yeah, I said we should pool our money, get a couple of cheap hotel rooms, hang out through the day, get some more bags, a LOT more bags, and go back the next night and get some more, before it got burned." "And everybody thought that was a winner of a plan, so we drove to Livingston, the county seat, and holed up in this little shitbox of a motel. I lost the coin toss so Freaky's in the room with me and Margie, which meant I was laying pipe while that stoned motherfucker watched goddamn cartoons, smoke so thick in the room I could barely breath and I was a gawddamn stoner!" "Meanwhile, in the other, Freaky-less room, Cathy and I enjoyed a little bit of quality time... we were asleep, which was a good damn thing as it turned out later," Harry added. "Damn straight, buddy. So night finally fell and we grabbed some garbage bags from a U-tote-m and back out to the fields of the Promised Land we went. We parked in pretty much the same place, got out, went trudgin' cross hill and dale, got to the fields and started harvestin' again. Margie and me had got a little sleep, but we was still stumblin' around a lot, Freaky was still so stoned he could hardly find the ground, but anything we got that night was gonna be gravy anyway, everyone was in a good mood, it was such a wonderful gawddamn life that Jimmy-gawddamn-Stewart was smokin' my gawddamn pole. "Until the automatic weapons fire started up. "We were merrily pickin' along and we all heard these whinin' noises, real shrill, and the 'splat-splat' of somethin' punchin' through leaves and plants over to our left and then we heard the gunfire and everybody freaked the fuck out. We were runnin' around like chickens with bottle rockets up their asses. I saw Margie runnin' towards flashes of gunfire so I flyin'-tackled her ass, Cathy had grabbed Freaky just in time to keep him from wavin' his arms at a helicopter that was flyin' overhead and nobody knew where the fuck Harry was." "I'd gotten lucky," Harry continued, "because I'd run exactly the wrong direction. I ended up coming out of the fields in view of this house and I swear to Sonny Jesus I thought every Federal agent in the nation was there and they'd all brought their bang-bangs. I knew I'd gone the wrong way so I headed back the way I'd come and tried to keep all the gunfire to my right. I was a low-crawling motherfucker when I basically crawled over Margie's head and Eddy grabbed my ass... he says it was what he could get a hand on, I say he was copping a feel, and I tell them that the direction I was coming from was the Wrong One and that means the way I was going was at least close to the Right One. So off we went." "Yeah, we managed to find Cathy and Freaky along the way," Eddy said as he picked up the narrative once more, "she was havin' to slap the shit out of him to get him off her. He was convinced we were all gonna die and he was hollerin' he didn't wanna die no virgin, which was way more than we ever wanted to know about Freaky. I slapped Freaky so hard he was actually sober for like, a minute, and we're all crawlin' along, followin' Harry's skinny butt. He came out onto the road within' prolly a hundred yards of the gawddamn Wagoneer. We loaded our asses in it and very carefully drove away, makin' sure we obeyed every traffic law we could remember. We got back to the motel with no sign of anybody takin' an interest in us; we debated about leavin' the dope for maybe, oh, two hours, before super stoner Harry said..." "Fuck you all, I'm taking this dope home if I have to carry it all on my back," quoted Harry. "Which kinda settled the issue... we loaded up the Wagoneer, had to tie up and gag Freaky because he was abso-fuckin'-lutely convinced we was gonna get caught, and drove back. No problems on the way home, stashed the dope, had enough to keep us in smoke for a loooooooong time. We find out from Nancy three days later that we were the luckiest little motherfuckers on the planet. The owners of the field had noticed the signs of our harvestin' the day after our first trip and were layin' in wait for us in that field with their automatic rifles and our bodies was never gonna be found. But the agent-in-charge for the DEA had gotten reminded, apparently quite forcefully, by his wife of a bar mitzvah they were to attend the following night out of state, so he moved the raid up a night. The DEA comes creepin' in on the farmhouse to find nobody there because they're all out in the field, waitin' for us. So the DEA calls in air support and goes into the field, gunfire breaks out, a whole lotta lead gets expended, two agents get wounded, one grower gets dead, another wounded and we waltz outta there with the dope without a bullet hole among us. One of the goddamn scariest nights of my life..." Margo looked at him across the table in amazement. "Eddy, if that's not the scariest night of your life, what was?" Eddy looked into her eyes. "That, my dear, is a story for another night." * * * * * As soon as dinner was done they went back to the suite for after-dinner coffee and relaxed until it was time to head to Tatiana's. A short drive later found them pulling up to a gate in a high wall surrounding a home in a very prestigious part of town. Most of the homes in the area had historical markers on them and the whole area positively reeked of moneyed gentility. An armed guard came to the gate and after they identified themselves, which included driver's licenses for everyone, with the exception of Tamara, they were waved through and toward an area where they could park. The home itself, a monstrosity in the Romanesque Revival style, squatted on the grounds like a great, red-brick gargoyle. Its cylindrical tower with crenellated top served as its head while the great white stone arches over its door and windows almost resembled scales. Indeed it reminded Harry more of some small town county courthouse than a home. A young man whose face seemed to be marred by a perpetual sneer met them as they got out of their cars. "Madame Tatiana will see you in the workshop. It is around back to your right," he said in a not very convincing Russian accent. Carol looked at him disdainfully. "If you are planning to put on airs like one of the last of the Romanovs, the least you could do is have an accent that is better than a high school drama student's," she said in an accent far better than his. He blushed and stormed off towards the house. "Poseurs... no sense of humor," Carol chuckled. They headed around the house to the right and saw the workshop, a converted carriage house, and followed the brick walkway to the door. A sign next to a bell said "Ring Before Entering" so they did so, opened the door and walked in. The ground floor had been converted into a showroom of sorts, with cases displaying examples of Tatiana's work. There was everything from simple, elegant designs to intricate pieces with dozens of stones and exquisite inlays. On the walls were pictures of a tall, almost painfully thin woman with most of the movers and shakers in Texas over the past fifty years, and quite a few of the national movers and shakers as well. Harry was admiring one of her with J.F.K. and Jackie when she came down from upstairs. The years had been as kind to Tatiana as her youth had, which was to say, not very. Plain with large, thick glasses, she might be considered horse-faced if her bearing weren't so regal and her inner dignity so unassailable. Since her bearing and dignity were as they were, she was aristocratic. The camouflage BDUs and the long sleeved t-shirt bore the signs of many small burns. Her gray hair was piled into a mass on the top of her head had strings hanging down everywhere, some of which looked a little charred, but she bore herself as if she was descending the Grand Staircase at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. "I am Tatiana, how may I help you?" she asked in a flawless Russian accent. Carol stepped out from behind Margo. "Save the act for the rubes, Tattie. How you been?" "CAROL!" she squealed in an accent far closer to Saint Paul, Texas than St. Petersburg, Russia. She opened her arms and Carol ran to her and gave her a hug. "Tattie, this is my man, Harry Grimes and his wife, Margo, our dear friend Eddy Janak, his girl Tamara, and our friend Kelly Culberson. All of you, this is Tatiana Turov who will shamelessly drop hints right and left that 'Turov' was a name the family adopted to hide a much more noble one out of fear of Russian Communist assassins in the 40's and 50's. Don't buy the bullshit; she's no more nobility than I'm a pro football player. What she is, with no argument, is the finest crafter of jewelry I've ever seen." "It's a pleasure to meet y'all. Any friends of Carol's are welcome here. Carol, where have you been, honey? I haven't seen you since before Tony's funeral. I was real sorry, it was obvious to everyone how you felt about him." "Thanks Tattie. Tell you what, some night when you need to take a break, we'll have you over to the house and we can do some visiting." "Yeah, we'll tell these folks some stories, like the time you, me and Tony got drunk at Sylvestre's and spent the evening raising hell in the Hotel Adolphus with my little wrist rocket and a pouch of bb's. Thank God they either never caught on it was us or they were so scared of Tony they didn't want to say anything." "It's a date. But for now, Tattie, she needs an engagement ring, they need to start thinking about wedding rings, who knows what that big hairy bear over there might not want. I think I'm going to take Tamara and Kelly out for a stroll on your grounds, show them the pond." "You do that, darling; I just had it re-stocked with koi. And if you see any goddamn cat anywhere on the premises, one of y'all come get me. I'll put a bb so far up its koi-eatin' ass it'll be constipated for a week." * * * * * Three hours later, after the girls had enjoyed a pleasant time by the pond refreshments served by a very unhappy young poseur, Harry, Margo and Eddy were ready to leave. The three of them were smiling evilly and Carol had to wonder what she might have missed by keeping Tamara out of the way. Oil of Roses Ch. 17 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * Upon returning to the Omni, the bar called to them loudly, so they sauntered in. Margo had taken Carol's leash and with it in hand, walked up to the manager, Mrs. Reynolds, who was standing in a corner, surveying the rather light Sunday night crowd. "Mrs. Reynolds, is it? Yes, Mrs. Reynolds, is our section available?" The woman paused only slightly. "Yes ma'am, it's available. May I assume you wish it lit as it was last night?" "Yes, exactly as it was last night... one more thing, is that delightful waitress we had last evening... Jessica... is Jessica on duty this evening?" "No ma'am, she has the night off." "Would you be a dear and call her in to work? We'd really prefer her to serve us." "Uh... that's quite irregular..." "Oh well then, I suppose we can go drink somewhere else..." "But certainly not impossible... I'll call her and see if she wants to come in." "Tell her there's at least a two hundred dollar tip if she does." "I'm sure she'll be here with bells on, ma'am. Is there anything I can have sent in to you in the meantime?" "No, we'll wait for her. Have her hurry, please. And no one else should disturb us." "Yes ma'am." The group walked into the back area of the bar as the lights were cut and Mrs. Reynolds herself roped it off, hanging the 'Private Party' sign on the rope. Eddy looked at Margo with a smirk. "Well ain't you little Miss All That?" "That's Mrs. All That to you, Eddy, and yes, I damn well am. We just need to make sure to drop enough on our bar tab, even if we don't drink everything we order, to soothe Mrs. Reynolds this evening." Eddy and Tamara went off to a booth in the corner where they sat together, quietly talking and touching. Margo sat down at one of the tables in the section and pulled Carol onto her lap. "So Little Cunt, you have a choice. Where do you want to be punished? Here, in a semi-exposed place, or in the safety of the room?" Carol whimpered softly. "Here, please Madam. Here would be lovely." "That's fine. Tell me what you want to drink so when Jessica comes by you won't have to stop to give her your drink order." "Uh, two shots of Goldshlager should be fine for now, and help with the bar tab too Madam. And please don't forget, large glasses of water for everyone." "Fine," Margo said as she gently prodded Carol to her feet. "Harry, would you be so kind as to pull that table out of that booth over there? Let's see if I can get comfortable here with enough room for Little Cunt to lay on the bench with that ass of hers in the proper position for you. If I can't, this may have to wait until the room no matter what any of us want." As she positioned her body on the bench seat of the deep booth, it became obvious that the positioning wasn't going to work. "Maybe I can help with that," Kelly said. "Scoot forward, let me get behind you... there... thank God these are some deep bench seats... even so we're both gonna have one foot on the floor." With Kelly behind her, the positioning was almost perfect and Margo's panty-clad crotch was exposed, her long skirt hiked up and out of the way. Margo raised her butt and Carol slipped her panties down and off. "Time to get started... bare your ass, Little Cunt. Harry, bring a chair, I think you're going to be busy for awhile. As sore as I am, an orgasm might be a little hard for me tonight and that's going to be hard on someone's bottom." Carol kicked off her sandals, dropped her pants and panties and lay down on the bench, her bare ass in front of Harry. He picked up her legs and scooted his knees underneath her thighs so that she lay across the bench and then him. "Begin," Margo said. Carol's tongue began to lovingly caress every fold and crevice of Margo's cunt as Harry started striking her bottom, crisply and firmly, first one cheek and then the other. Kelly moved Margo's hair out of the way and began to kiss her neck while caressing her sides. "Umm, what do you think you're doing? I mean, it feels lovely, but this wasn't part of the arrangement." "Neither was you being sore," Kelly murmured in her ear, "I'm just helping to level the playing field." "Princess, you stop that right this minute!" Margo snapped. "Oh no, Big Mama, 'Princess' isn't in the building right now. This is Kelly back here and I do what I damn well want to... and right now, if I had my way, I'd have you on your stomach, pillows under your middle, that beautiful ass of yours in the air. I'd be stabbing your cunt with that blue dildo of yours." She lowered her voice into her most animalistic purring growl. "And I'd be thrusting my tongue in and out of your ass so hard, you'd be whimpering and begging for me to strap something on and do you." "Umm hmmm," moaned Margo as her body writhed in time with Kelly's caresses, Carol's tongue and Harry's swats. After four or five minutes, Kelly said, "And when I couldn't stand your pathetic whining anymore, I'd have Harry stick his cock down your throat to shut you up. Then I'd be merciful, strap something on and give you what you wanted, fuck you in the ass till you were screaming around your husband's prick." "UMMM HMMMM NNNNGGGGNNNN GODDAMN YOU KELLY!" Margo's body went rigid as, just to add punctuation to her manipulation of her, Kelly bit her on the neck, bringing forth even more moans as Margo shuddered through her orgasm. Her hands were like claws digging into Kelly's legs, the moans slowly dying down to whimpers as she rode out the aftershocks. "Why Mrs. G," Kelly murmured in her ear, "I do believe there's a quivering little submissive in there somewhere." "Th-there is, K-k-kelly... and I want you to play with her like you were talking about some day... soon." Kelly kissed her sweetly on the cheek. "Sure thing Mrs. G, anything for you." She stroked Margo's hair. "I hope you know I was just helpin' out my girl down there?" "No problem, you were right... it wasn't fair as I set things up." * * * * * Jessica had spent her evening on call sitting in the employee lounge at the hotel, nervously eating whatever she could sneak out of the kitchen on her frequent raids. Her weight had been a self-image problem for her all her life... even Jimmy had made derogatory comments about her size... but Kelly... Kelly liked it. She seemed to revel in it... some of the things she'd whispered to Jessica the night before... oh God... Jessica got wet just remembering them. At one point Jessica had gotten up the courage to ask her if she really didn't mind her weight. Kelly had looked at her, lust and love swirling in her eyes. "Jess, you're almost perfect." "You mean I just need to lose a little weight?" "No, you silly bitch... you could stand to gain a few pounds." She was in such uncharted territory with Kelly... she felt like she was rushing along the very lip of a ledge, moving faster than she could navigate and she just hoped Kelly would be there to catch her if... no, when, she fell. Then her mother had called. 'They' were back in the bar and demanded her to waitress for them. She had been in the women's locker room and changed, on her way towards the bar before her cell phone cooled off from the call. She passed her mother at a fast walk. "I-was-in-the-lounge-don't-worry-about-clocking-me-in-I'm-working-off-the-clock-bye." When she got to the darkened rear section, she stood there a moment, letting her eyes get accustomed to the light, or lack thereof. She saw Eddy and Tamara over in a corner, lost in each others' company. God, it could not possibly be more obvious how much in love they were. She moved further in and saw Harry putting Carol across his knees. She had her head in Margo's cunt... and Kelly was behind Margo... oh God, Kelly looked hot! As she watched, the licking and the spanking began and Kelly started to play with Margo... Jessica was watching her lover be sexual with another person. She wasn't sure how she felt about it... she'd seen Kelly with her other lovers before, but that had been before they starting 'dating'... on one level it made her feel insecure... she knew Kelly loved her, it wasn't Margo or Carol or Harry that Kelly had wanted to be in bed with last night. And on another level, she wasn't altogether sure she didn't want to be in Carol's place... although she wouldn't want Harry to be spanking her... she'd want it to be Kelly. She nervously looked over her shoulder. The sound of Harry's hand hitting Carol's ass could be heard all the way to where she was, loud and clear. She was pretty damn sure it could be heard out in the rest of the bar. The couple at table 27 was looking a little upset. She turned her attention back to her new friends. She continued to watch, transfixed, as events culminated in Kelly's attack on Margo's neck and Margo's loud orgasm. SHIT! She was sure that had been heard and as she turned around she realized she'd been paying far too much attention to the wrong thing. The man from table 27 had gotten up and gone to get her mother. He was returning to his seat and she was headed for the rear of the bar, looking angry. Jessica moved to intercept her. * * * * * From the entrance to the section they heard Jessica's voice. "No, Mrs. Reynolds, everything's fine, I have their order and was just bringing it out. Mrs. Grimes simply got a little rowdy, perhaps if you turn up the music a bit it will help muffle any further disturbance... no ma'am, I'm sure that no one was hit repeatedly back here." Carol paused in licking Margo. "Oh yes they were, wonderfully so. Sir, please, there was a part two to this..." "And we'll get to it as soon as we have some lubricant. I wonder if I could send Eddy up to the room..." "No need, honey, check my bag," Margo said. "I've started carrying it, simply because I know us... all of us," she added, looking down at Carol. * * * * * Eddy watched the festivities from the corner as he cuddled Theresa. The look he had on his face puzzled her... he looked sad and lonely. "Edward, sir, what's wrong?" "Hmm?" "What's wrong, sir? You seem upset, sad, worried, lonely... I'm not sure what, but you're definitely not looking like a man in love should look. "I'm sorry, sir. I may have spoken out of turn. It's not my place to criticize." "You weren't criticizin', you were showin' concern for the man you love and that's appropriate in my book, no matter what you been told in the past. "Theresa, if my life has been the example for any principle, that principle would be somethin' like 'the worse something is, the longer it lasts; conversely, the better something is, the shorter its duration'. The good things that have happened to me, with the exception of my friendship with Harry, have all gone away far too quickly where the bad things and their aftereffects, have stuck around far too fuckin' long. "Now here you are, the best thing that's ever happened to me... ever. So I figure you're gonna be gone any second. I reckon I'm just tryin' to get my head ready for you leavin'." The fist that hit the side of his face may have been small and propelled by weakened muscles, but it had anger behind it. "WHAT THE FUCK?" He looked down to see her crying, glaring up at him angrily through her tears. "Edward John Janak, don't you be preparing yourself for me leaving! The day you want me gone you may give me away or sell me, but until then you're stuck with me! I may look like a frail little girl but believe you me, putting up with Fat Phillie Philouma is not a job a frail little girl can manage! I've managed it for over a year! I'm a little weak now because that sorry piece of shit tried to starve me, but you give me some time to recover and I'll show you just how strong I am! I'm not some tragic little consumptive heroine from a Victorian novel!" "Yeah, I can see that, that fuckin' punch you just gave me hurt like hell!" "I meant it to! Quit planning and preparing for my departure when I just got here! I'm yours, body and soul; not just because you own me but because for the first time in a long time I want to be." Her demeanor softened. "Edward, I am happier than I have ever been. Please, come be happy with me. It's no fun for me to be happy alone, not when the reason I'm so happy is being haunted by vague 'maybe's." Eddy looked into her eyes and was amazed at the depth of the love he saw there. It's an act, a sham. She'll get her hands on some money and then she'll leave you, just like all the others. Remember, monster, the Creature may hold the pretty girl for a time, but he never gets to keep her. "Edward, why are you so sure I'll leave you?" "Maybe I'd better tell you a bit about my track record with women..." * * * * * Jessica gave the bartender their drink order from the night before. She was on pins and needles. Her mother had turned the volume on the music up in the back section. Jessica was sure that they heard her talking to her mom, so she knew they were aware they'd been heard. Hopefully that awareness, and the increased volume on the music, would keep her mother away from them. "So, what do you do when you're back there with them for such long periods of time?" her mother asked from behind her. If she didn't know better, Jessica would have sworn that her heart had stopped. "Oh, listen to them tell wild, improbable stories mostly," she lied. "They seem to like having an audience and I figure it's less disturbing if I'm their audience then if they held court out here in the bar." "Uh huh... you know they offended several guests at brunch this morning... the hotel is having them served in a private room." "Mrs. Reynolds, from what I've seen, they're not bad people, they're just... a little unthinking sometimes. They get a little loud, a little inappropriate, but they don't really mean any harm." "Hmmph. Oh, Jimmy came to see you here at the bar tonight. He said you'd called him this afternoon and told him it was over between the two of you." "Did he tell you why I told him it was over?" "No and I'm quite sure I don't want to know. But Jessica, he's the only boyfriend you've ever been able to get. If you'd just take a little pride in yourself, stop eating so much-" "MRS. REYNOLDS! I don't think that kind of discussion is appropriate in the workplace. My order's up, I need to deliver it." Shaking with anger Jessica picked up the tray and headed back to the darkened section. * * * * * For a moment, Harry felt a little guilty that he enjoyed anal sex so much. But it was a passing flicker of guilt, as it was obvious that Carol enjoyed it as much or more than he did. One hand under her and between her legs, the other wrapped around Margo's leg, she was teasing her Madam toward another orgasm as Harry gently slid in and out of her ass. He saw Margo and Kelly wave to someone, Kelly's face had lit up like a Vegas strip hotel sign so he knew it had to be Jessica. He heard her walk up behind them. She kissed him on the cheek. "Putting your best face forward, Harry?" "Oh, very humorous... if I weren't having so much fun where I am, I'd have to put you over my knee and spank you." "Sorry Harry, only Kelly has spanking privileges on me." "Oh, don't worry, I'll spank her for it," Kelly said. "Yummy," Jessica replied. "Look, I gave the bartender a repeat of what you ordered last night, I hope that's okay?" "That's... fine... Jessica... pardon... me... if... I ... go... away... now...," Margo moaned. The sight of his wife's orgasm as it caused all her delightful bits to jiggle sent Harry over the edge and he buried himself in Carol's ass and swore he felt his balls shrivel as they emptied into her. Carol's orgasm, not too far behind his, had her slowly sinking to the floor. "Jessica, sweetie, if I asked you real nicely, would you go grab us some wet towels to clean up with and some dry ones too?" "On it!" After everyone was clean and dressed, and the used towels deposited in the bin under the bar, everyone but Eddy and Tamara sat down and talked. They looked like they were having one of 'those' conversations in the corner. The first round of drinks was quickly emptied and Jessica went back to the bar with their new orders and to retrieve water and bar munchies. * * * * * "... so that's why I expect you to leave." "Alright Edward, I understand, at least somewhat, why you're so scared of me leaving. But I can't. Well, I can, but you'd have to abuse me very severely to make me pack up and leave, I mean you'd have to regularly have me in fear for my life... and I know that's not going to happen with you. I would've left Phil... I would've left several of the 'Family men' I was with, except that you don't leave them. "But even if I didn't love you more than I've loved any other man since my father, I'm not mentally programmed for 'leaving'. I'm programmed for staying, pretty much no matter what. "And then let's look at it another way. Common threads in every story of a failed relationship that you told me about were that you met them at a bar, you were both drunk, and you came onto them because they looked like the type of woman who might be willing to sleep with, as you put it, a monster like you. Right?" "Yeah... I guess that's right." "Edward, I'm not the kind of woman who hangs out in bars looking for men. I'm not the kind of woman who gets drunk at a bar. Even if I were, even if I did, would you come onto me if you saw me drunk at a bar?" "No... you're not the kind of woman who'd be willing to fuck a... guy... like me." "You're right, I'm not... I want far more out of my relationship with you than just fucking. That would be like Kelly offering you all her many charms and you saying 'I'll just suck your little toe, that'll be fine'. I'm going to keep hammering on you that you're a wonderful man and a good person until someday you get tired of me beating on you and believe it. "So I'm not the kind of woman you'd normally hook up with. I was chosen for you by someone with uncanny insight. Someone who was more certain than she let herself know, I think, that I could not help but fall for you and that you had no choice but to fall for me. So to sum it all up, Edward, the only similarity between me and the women who've hurt you so badly so often over the years is that I'm of the same gender... right?" "Yeah... that's really about the only similarity." "Then stop expecting me to act like them. Oil of Roses Ch. 17 Now kiss me and decide how best to punish me for striking you. No matter how upset I was that was completely uncalled for, totally unacceptable and I deserve whatever correction you deem proper." "I'm gonna punish you mercilessly, and I do mean mercilessly, by blowin' raspberries on your belly until you're laughin' so hard you can barely breathe. You won't know when, or where, but it's comin'." "Yes sir," she said, smiling up at him. * * * * * The conversation had relocated more to the center of the room when she returned. Harry explained that the smell of sex back where they had been was sort of distracting. Carol looked in shock at her two 'shots' of Goldshlager. The bartender, being friendly, had poured said shots into highball glasses... and since that wasted so much space in the glasses, he'd added more shnapps. Carol conservatively figured she had about 6 shots per glass. "Does anyone want to help me with this Goldshlager?" she asked plaintively. "I'll help," Kelly volunteered. "Sip it or bird it?" Carol asked. "Bird me of course, you silly bitch!" Carol took a healthy swig of the fiery liqueur, stood up and kissed Kelly from above, dribbling the fluid into her mouth. Kelly continued the kiss after the liqueur was long gone. Finally she broke the kiss. "Damn that was good! Jess, Angel, you've got to try some of that." "Okay, I'm game... Carol?" "Yeah Jess?" "Well, no offense, but could Kelly, what did you call it? Bird me?" Carol smiled. "Sure, no problem, but I get to bird it to her first." "Fair enough," said Kelly, never one to pass up two kisses in place of one. Harry leaned into his wife as he gently stroked her thigh. "Do you think they have any idea the effect watching them is having on us?" "Probably not," Margo said. "I think the desires of two horny old people are pretty damn far away from their minds right now." "I heard that," Carol said, "and it isn't true." She took another large mouthful and stood over Kelly, kissed her and let the liqueur pour down into her. They both kept the kiss short and Kelly got up, straddled Jessica's lap and leaned down to kiss her, accidentally spilling some of the liqueur down the side of Jess' face. She caught it with her fingers and as Jessica swallowed and the kiss continued, Kelly put the fingers between their mouths so they both could lick them clean, then continued to kiss Jessica. Finally Kelly just sat down astride Jessica and the two of them made out like teenagers. * * * * * Mrs. Reynolds was quite sure something was going on... the only problem was, she had no idea what. There was no way that they were taking any sexual advantage of her daughter; those people could have no interest in a fat girl like Jessica. Maybe it was drugs, or something even darker. She did a smile-and-greet pass through the bar and made sure the two waitresses on duty were doing their jobs. Then she told Mike, the bartender, to keep an eye on things and quietly headed back towards the rear. She got to the section entrance, stepped inside and to the right, one of her observation points when overseeing this part of the bar. She waited for her eyes to adjust. Whatever she was expecting to see, it wasn't this. Nothing really unusual on the right side; the large man and his little companion were cuddling and talking. Her eyes scanned to the center of the room, the more mature of the women and her husband, Mrs. Reynolds assumed, were sitting together watching... something... the girl on the chain was watching whatever it was as well. She moved deeper into the darkness. * * * * * Kelly was back in the arms she'd been missing all day. She felt the warmth of her love close to her and she realized that she had fallen so hard for this girl. "Jess, I love you and I've missed you all day and every second I've wished you were with me." "Baby, I know, it's been the same for me. I love you so much. I called Jimmy this afternoon and broke it off and I've wanted to be back with you so bad." Their lips joined again and their hands began to roam across each others back and arms and neck. Carol felt her before anyone heard her but it was only a split second before and could in no way change the course of events. "JESSICA ANN REYNOLDS! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Time stopped, in that funny way it has of stopping when one really doesn't want it to, those times one wishes one could just fast-forward past the next several hours and arrive at a point in time when all the drama was over. "How do you want to play this one, she's your mother?" Kelly whispered. She got no answer so she pulled back to see that Jessica was furious. "Whatever happens Angel, we're all with you, okay?" Jessica nodded, a tight, angry, controlled little nod. Kelly got up and swung out of the way. Jessica got up, took Kelly by the hand and pulled her over to where Mrs. Reynolds stood, steaming. Jessica had plastered a politely neutral face on. "Mother, please lower your voice. I'd like you to meet Kelly, my girlfriend." Mrs. Reynolds' hand snapped back and headed for Jessica's face only to run into Kelly's face on the way. "Mrs. Reynolds, you get that one as a freebie," Kelly said, standing in front of Jessica as a shield, "you don't want to pull that hand back again, though." Mrs. Reynolds sneered and brought her hand back. It was caught by the massive hand of the very large man. "Really ma'am, you don't want to do that," Eddy said, gently holding her hand in place. "Or what," the woman said, suddenly frightened... she did a masterful job of covering the fear with scorn, "you'll hit me?" "No ma'am," the huge man responded, calmly, "someone, whomever you hit, will be filing assault charges. That would be bad enough, but also, in all probability, they'll be filing a lawsuit against you and the Omni Hotel chain as well, and that would get damned ugly, pardon my language. I certainly don't think your employers want you to hit anyone in this room again; no matter how justified you might feel." Slowly reason returned to her eyes and everyone breathed a little easier. Her next words destroyed that sense of ease. "You're terminated, Jessica. I'll be calling Security to escort you to the employee locker room and then off the premises. We'll discuss this further when I get home." Kelly shot Harry a glance, he nodded. "And immediately after you have her walked off the premises, Mrs. Reynolds, I'll walk her right back on as our guest in the Presidential Suite." "I don't think so, whatever your name was. She will not be allowed back onto hotel property." Margo stepped to the fore. "Then I think we'll be leaving and talking to my friend, the manager of hotel operations, Mr. Saunders, explaining to him why we're leaving and requesting a full apology from you, not only to us as a group, but to Kelly and to your daughter specifically." "You can give that shit up for Lent, I'm not apologizing to that little nigger..." Mrs. Reynolds found herself facing a collection of very angry people. The very large man was behind her, blocking her exit. The rest of the group was in front of her and to her sides. The short girl who'd been led in on a leash got right up in her face. "You're going to apologize to my friend and you're going to do so right now. If you don't, I'm going to pull something very nasty out of my pocket and go to work on you with it. I'm real tired of ignorant fucking bigots using that hateful goddamn word to refer to a woman who's a much better person than they'll ever be. And please don't think I'm afraid of the law. My friends will get me a very good lawyer and I'll tell such a truthful and heart-rending story of a fucked-up childhood and an unfortunate life since that I won't do much time at all. You, on the other hand, will be looking for a real good plastic surgeon to fix your face. Now apologize, bitch." Never for a moment did Mrs. Reynolds doubt she was in mortal danger from the little woman. In that she showed one of the few flashes of wisdom she had that night. "Kelly... I apologize... for referring to you by that hateful word... I ask that you forgive me... for losing my temper and saying something I didn't really mean." "Apology accepted." Kelly turned to Jessica. "What do you want to do now, Angel?" "What she wants to do is immaterial, I'm her mother and she's going to go home and wait for me to get off work." Kelly turned and looked at her. "Ma'am, when I'm speaking to you, you'll know it. Your daughter is eighteen. I asked her what she wanted to do, I did not ask what you expected her to do. I'll thank you to let her answer the question." Jessica looked from Kelly to Harry to Margo and back to Kelly. Harry'd had enough. "I'm sorry but I'm going to hurry this up a little because standing this close to you, Mrs. Reynolds, is something I'm finding distinctly unpleasant. Jessica, if you need a place to stay, we've got the room." "You need a job? Wanna deliver Chinese food? Pay ain't what it was here, but it's a living," Kelly said. "Kelly, I want to move in with you at Harry and Margo's. I'd like to get a job delivering Chinese food. Mother, may I pack up some things at the house?" Mrs. Reynolds barely contained her anger. "Take whatever you want but be out of there by the time I get home. Anything you leave I'm throwing out." "Fine," Harry said, "glad we have all that settled. Eddy, would you and Kelly go with her and help her get her stuff together and over to the house? Margo, go get Mr. Saunders on the phone from the front desk. Tell him the whole story, including Mrs. Reynold's unfortunate use of racial epithets. See how much shit you can stir up. Carol, you and I are going to go pack out the room. We're going home." "What about me, Harry?" Tamara asked. "Tammy, if you feel up to it we could sure use your help packing out the room. Good night Mrs. Reynolds, I sincerely hope you're unemployed in the morning." With that they walked out, leaving Mrs. Reynolds with nothing but her anger. * * * * * The next several hours were full of activity and everyone's tiredness didn't make them go any easier. But eventually Harry, Margo, Carol and Tamara had made it to the house. Perry and Bevy had been sent away after being paid for the full week. Before they'd left they'd hauled the crates of albums and equipment up to the old upstairs master bedroom, which had been Harry's father's office. They'd made arrangements to come back and shoot some photos of Carol, Tamara and Margo to use as models for "Dinosaur Ho". Harry was pretty sure that once they met them, they'd be adding Kelly and Jessica to the model list. After hauling in their luggage, Harry had gone upstairs to see the shape his bedroom was in. He threw the last of his remaining things into some boxes and put them in the office as well. Then he ripped the sheets off the double bed and took them down to the laundry room. He had Carol go put fresh sheets on the bed and finish airing the room out. Margo put away everything they had brought home. She was satisfied, overall, with the results of her conversation with Martin Saunders. Mrs. Reynolds was going to be spoken with the next day. If Mr. Saunders wasn't happy with the answers he got, and Margo was pretty sure he wouldn't be, she would be terminated. They had three nights stay in the Presidential Suite comp'd the next time they visited, provided they stayed a full week. After Jessica had mentioned it to her, she'd made sure that Saunders knew she'd paid to have a night's stay and the brunches of the people they'd discomfited that morning taken care of. She knew he'd make sure they received them. They didn't mean to be loud and obnoxious... it just seemed to happen: especially when Harry and Eddy got together. If you added alcohol and an appreciative audience to the mix, inappropriateness and high volume were guaranteed. Margo foresaw a lot of apologies and soothing of ruffled feathers when they went out together. She smiled. She wouldn't have it any other way. Harry walked into the bedroom. "My beloved wife, I have a date with a big ol' bowl of dope in that pipe, but before I go getting stoned, I'm going to make a quick run to H.E.B." As Eddy had checked out of the Omni as well, Margo and Tamara prepped the guest room for Eddy and Tamara to occupy. "You know, I wasn't quite thinking when I stormed out of the Omni just how much work would be involved," Margo said with a rueful grin. Tamara looked up at her. "You were all willing to go pretty far for someone you'd just met the day before, ma'am. I was a little surprised." Margo sat down on the edge of the newly sheeted bed. "If she and Kelly weren't involved, I don't know if we would have gone as far as fast... I'd like to think we would have. Jessica seems like a very sweet girl, I like her a lot. But she is involved with Kelly, and Kelly's one of our own, just like you and Eddy and Karen and Patricia are. We protect our own, whenever and wherever we can." Carol came in. "Well, both sets of sheets that were stripped are in the wash. Shouldn't be a problem getting them in the dryer before everyone crashes. What's up with y'all?" "Oh, we're just discussing what went down at the hotel," Margo said. "Have a seat, join the confab. "Besides," she continued, "I noticed you were right there with us, Tammy." "Edward was there, I was there." She said as the simple axiom it was, in her mind. "Carol, were you really going to cut Mrs. Reynolds?" "Not sure. I know I sure wanted to. I don't like that fucking word. I really don't like it when it gets applied to someone I love, someone who's as special as she is. I think if the chickenshit bitch had been a little ballsier and not backed down, I probably would have just beat the shit out of her. Using my razor could get me in serious trouble." She leaned over and hugged Tammy. "Have I mentioned how happy I am that we were able to get you away from that fat fuck Phil? It's good to be able to spend some time with you again, especially since you're away from that line of 'family men' you were with." "It's good to be out of there. Edward is so sweet and so gentle. I don't know how he's managed to stay that way, given the women in his past, but he's so beautiful and so fragile." Above her head Carol and Margo looked at one another and smiled. It might be a part of Eddy they'd never see, but they didn't doubt that it was real. They both envied her the chance to see that side of him... not the physical intimacy, but the emotional intimacy. "I'm glad you're happy, Tammy. I'm glad Eddy's happy. I'm glad we're all happy... let's just see if we can have a more drama-free life for awhile," Carol said. Margo heard her cell going off in the living room and went to answer it. Carol looked at Tamara. "Do you need anything from the kitchen? I'm feeling a bit hungry." "If you don't think anyone would mind..." "Goddamn it, Tamara, stop that! These people like you. Give them time and they'll love you, just like they love Eddy and Kelly. You're a guest here, a welcome guest. Quit acting like you're imposing by breathing." Tamara looked up at her from having dropped her eyes to the floor. "Carol, I'm sorry... I'm not used to being welcome." Carol sat down and hugged her. "I know, Tammy. Just work on believing you are, here, and that these people want nothing but good for you. If you and Eddy didn't work out, as long as you behaved honorably and decently, they'd still want nothing but good things for you. Now let's go get something to eat before I starve!" As the girls headed for the kitchen Margo got off the phone and followed them in. "Well, that was Eddy. They stopped and grabbed some boxes behind a couple of liquor stores and hit Jessica's house. Luckily Mrs. Reynolds was already there... Eddy was worried otherwise she'd claim that he or Kelly had stolen something. They're doing a very hurried smash-and-grab on Jessica's room. She's somewhat of an emotional wreck, completely understandably, but seems to be holding her shit together well enough to help them get her out of there." "Yeah, I imagine she wasn't expecting to lose her mother, her job and her home all in one night when she got up this morning," Carol said. "I'm thinking that if it looks like this is going to be permanent, we'll eventually switch the office upstairs with their room, to let them have the extra space." "Well, sounds good to me. You are, after all, the lady of the house," Margo said with an honest and open smile. "You do what seems best to you." Carol looked at her, trying to see any sign of resentment. "You're sure you're okay with that?" Margo laughed, "God yes! Honey, I'm not the housewifely type, I have a career I love and while I'm by no means a neat freak, I like coming home to a reasonably clean house and the promise of a hot meal somewhere in my future. For the freedom from having to worry about that," she dropped to her knees, "I will, upon request and advance notice, do anything the Lady of the House demands." "Margo, you are so beautiful... I may forget how hungry I am and do you right now on the floor," Carol said. Margo looked up. "Well, let's get you and Tammy fed first and then find a bed... I'm a little worn out tonight for the floor in the kitchen to have much appeal... although the living room... that's a different story." In the end they all agreed that soup or sandwiches were probably best. As they sat and ate, Harry got back from the grocery store. After he unloaded the car he nuked a bowl of soup and sat down with them. Margo started to fill him in on Eddy's call. "Don't bother honey, he called me too. I'm glad Mrs. Reynolds was there as well. I hate to think this of anyone, but I wouldn't want her causing any trouble for Eddy or Kelly, or Jess for that matter, and I wouldn't put it past her to claim they robbed her blind. With all four of them there at the same time. The chances of that should be negligible. "I used to think my naïve little liberal ass understood the plight of blacks in this country... I don't understand shit. I can't understand it. There's no one name anyone can call me that's loaded with four hundred years worth of hatred and bigotry... and I can't begin to imagine how it must feel to have one out there that can be used so freely by people. I never had any problem understanding how blacks could use that word among themselves. Not to equate the two situations, but Eddy and I called each other names we would've beaten the shit out of anyone else for calling us." "Well, I know you have a deep and abiding need to get stoned, Harry, but let's wait for them to get back... I'm thinking we all need the break... and after never smoking very much at all before I came here, I've missed it the past several days," Margo said. "Good God! Harry!" "What!" "Does this mean, after all these years, I'm finally not a Brain anymore, I'm a Stoner?" Harry laughed. "Yes my dear, you are now one of us. The many, the incoherent, the brain-fried... welcome to the Society of the Baked, Those Who Wear the Red Eyes, the Dope-Smoking Freaks! Just a few more degradations must I lure you into and you will be a complete and total bottom-feeding servant of Evil like myself!" He chuckled maniacally. "It's like I said, Margo, the drug use has destroyed his mind. Luckily we're made of stronger stuff than him," Carol said. "True. I kept praying he'd snap out of it... but now it's too late. He's fallen to the Drooling-Moron side of the Force. Tamara, I must apologize for my husband... he is not well." "It's alright Margo, I've seen this before. A perfectly normal and sane person driven to depravity and perversion by exposure to the demon marijuana... I hope they hurry home soon so we can smoke some." Oil of Roses Ch. 17 They all burst out in laughter. Margo got up from the table. "Tammy, you're going to fit in just fine around here. Come on, let me give you a tour of the house and show off what we're having done to it." As the two of them walked away Carol sighed and looked at Harry as he did his best drooling moron impression... which was frighteningly good. "Come on Igor, let's clean up some in here... if you're very good and don't break anything, I'll let you lick me between my legs." "Yes Caaaarooool... Igor like... Igor like!" Harry said as he followed behind her. * * * * * The truck and cars that pulled away from the apartment complex where Jessica had lived were filled with somber people. Eddy called the house and told them they were on their way. They arrived at the house and everyone helped Kelly and Jess take the boxes up to their new bedroom. Then they left them. As they were leaving Harry said, "There's sandwich makings and soup in the kitchen... we're gonna go get stoned. Y'all know you're free to join us or have some quiet alone time if that's what you need." "Thanks Harry, we'll see," Kelly said. After Harry shut the door she asked, "Are you going to be okay, Angel?" "Eventually... Mom and I haven't gotten along in years but when I started working at the Omni, was making my own money, contributing towards expenses, she seemed to be starting to chill some. And then this had to happen." "Baby, I'm so sorry-" "Kelly, don't. You have nothing to apologize for. I should be apologizing to you for the next hundred years for what a fucking piece of shit cow my mother is." "You don't apologize for her, not to me, not ever. You have no responsibility for what she said. You were behaving like an adult, your mother wasn't. I was very proud of you. I could see how angry you were." "Well thanks... Kelly... why'd you step in front of me and take that hit?" "Because you didn't deserve it... I was the one she wanted to hit, you knew it, I knew it, everyone there knew it. And because she had no business hitting you... I was protecting the woman I love... I like getting hit in the face by old cracker bitches... take your pick, I got a million of them." She smiled. "So what do you want to do now?" "Love you for the next couple of years at least... get clean... was he serious, they're going to be firing up a blunt downstairs?" "A blunt? My little delicious, delectable darling, blunts are so passé... they're going to be firing up the hookah! Let's hurry up with that shower... I could use a rinse as well." * * * * * Downstairs they heard one of the upstairs showers kick on. Eddy was already in the guest bath with Tamara. Harry was curled up between Margo's legs, rested his head on one of her thighs. "Have I told you lately, Carol my love, how glad I am that you suggested having a bigger water heater installed during the renovation?" Carol, who was laying back having a breast sucked by Margo, said, "No, not lately, but I'm thinking there's gonna be four people in this house real soon who wish it'd already been put in." As they lay naked almost dozing, they heard shouts from upstairs, followed by a cry and Eddy cursing downstairs. Soon they were joined in the candlelit living room by a disgruntled looking Eddy, naked but for a towel which, while of an appreciable size, didn't cover much of the man and Tamara, looking worlds better than she had when Harry first laid eyes on her, wearing a towel which, although the same size as Eddy's almost served her as a dress. Harry could see exactly what Phil had tried for in her look. Her armpits and pubic area were shaved and she looked like a well-developed underage girl... as if the Catholic schoolgirl outfit she'd been wearing hadn't been enough of a clue, he thought. "Are we waitin' for the Junior Lesbian Drum and Bugle Corps to show up before we fire up that bad boy?" Eddy asked. "Yeah, I think you'd better or I'm gonna open up a can o' whupass on you," Kelly answered as she came downstairs. "Besides you big escaped Sasquatch motherfucker, it's the Junior Bisexual Drum and Bugle Corps, although with that crack of yours, it might as well be lesbian for all of this pussy you're gonna see." "Oh, knowin' you Kelly, I'm gonna see it a lot... now, as to getting' any of it, well, that mighta been a problem, but now I have the world's loveliest, and most amenable, woman as my own and I'm afraid your feminine charms, enticin' as they are, just do not hold a candle." Eddy sat down on the floor and scooped a giggling Tamara into his arms. He burrowed his head through the edge of her towel, put his lips to the bare belly he'd exposed and blew a great, resounding raspberry on it. The peals of laughter that erupted from Tamara were such a beautiful sound that everyone was helpless to resist laughing along. The naked Kelly stood by her head as Eddy continued to make obnoxious noises on her belly. "Sister, do you wish the Junior Bisexual Drum and Bugle Corps to come to your aid and rescue you from this reprehensible man who is even now having his way with your sweet young tummy?" "N-n-n-n-no... I-I-I'm f-f-fine..." she gasped out. "I-I-I'm... being... punished." "Alright, then I shall shift realities and go sit with my liege Arthur, his Queen, Guinevere and our wizard Merlin." She looked at Jessica, who was somewhat self-consciously wrapped in a towel. "Come Lady Jessica, let us make ourselves comfortable, hopefully far away from that great belly-frapper Sir Edward and his poor unfortunate Lady Tamara." Sir Edward finally released the lovely and now quite naked Lady Tamara from his grasp. He gently wiped away her tears and when she went into a proper kneeling position, he pulled her out of it and into his arms, holding her close and cradling her as a miser would his gold. They sat down and Kelly looked at Harry and bowed her head, then raised it again. "My lord, we are assembled. In the parlance of that belly-frapper, Sir Edward, fire it up, if you would be so kind." The six hoses of the pipe were in use; Eddy looked at Tamara and offered her the tip. "No thank you Edward. I think the smoke in the air will be more than enough for me." "Do you not smoke?" "Not much... no real problem with it, just not something I've ever had much of a chance to do." "Would you like to?" "I guess... I gather you smoke quite a bit." "You could say that, yes, yes you could. Arthur, you could say I smoke quite a bit, couldn't you?" "Yes, yes, Sir Edward, you could say you smoke quite a bit... just as you could say that Lady Kay has a small exhibitionist streak, or that Merlin likes to be tied up once in a blue moon, or that I find my wife and Merlin mildly attractive. In that sense, one of massive understatement, you could say that Sir Edward smokes quite a bit." As Sir Edward gently reintroduced Lady Tamara to the fine recreation of dope smoking, Arthur lay between the legs of his Queen and stroked the thigh of his court magician. He thought to himself that even with the unfortunate reason for their return, it was good to be home. Yes, it was home where he, Guinevere and Merlin were, but this place, this land, this just made it even more so. He looked over at Lady Kay and her new paramour, Lady Jessica. What a hard night it had been for them both. They both had been tested and they both had risen to every challenge. Now it was time for them to relax and he was pleased to see that Lady Kay's powers of seduction had not failed her. The Lady Jessica's compromise with modesty was thrown to one side so her lover could more easily caress all of her. He could think of no lovelier way to spend time than in this good company, sharing the love of his friends and companions. Across from him Sir Edward's new Lady knelt next to him submissively, finally released from his arms, giving the illusion that he was in complete control. But her sweet dominance over him was unmistakable, and was to his benefit from all Arthur could see. His oldest friend deserved this happiness, if he would only allow himself to accept it as his own. Edward had his Tamara... Kay had her Jessica... Arthur, blessed above any man's deserving, had Guinevere and Merlin. As he drew on the pipe he knew it to be exhausted of unsmoked herb. He stood up. "The workmen will be coming far too early in the morning. Now that this bowl is smoked to the dregs, I suggest we all repair to our chambers and sleep while we may. Come my ladies, let us away." Guinevere and Merlin stood to join him and the three of them bowed to the assembled company and took their leave of them. Edward looked upon his fair Lady and found her to be... sleepy. Not surprising at all, really. He lifted her in his arms and stood, effortlessly. "Kay, Jessica, we also take our leave of you. Sleep well, the first night you are together in your new home." He bowed, somewhat carefully, and headed for the guest room. "Kel- Kay, are all of you mad? Has some spell robbed you all of your senses?" "Jessica, my Lady most fair... if this be a curse... if such a company as this, our circle, be a curse, then all should be as damned as we. If the love, one for another, that we share, evident in word and in deed, be some foul spell, then may we witches daily offend. If the joy of slipping into romance's heroic tales makes us appear mad, then may Camelot have padded walls. "To play together with just one other is a gift much rarer than gold, how precious then to play with many? Our inner children frolic in the sun together while our outer adults engage in their passions and desires. "My love, you have lost much tonight... mayhap this is a small glimpse of what you have gained and may it soften your loss and stay your tears. But even if it is not so, let us go up together, and if you must cry then I shall kiss your tears from your face and if you need laughter I shall revel in it like rain from the heavens." "You are extraordinary, Lady Kay," Jessica said, love shining from her eyes and bathing Kay's face. Kay reached over and stroked her love's face. "My love, are you sure you do not flatter me merely to entice me to quench your lust?" She smiled devilishly. "I am sure I do not do so... but since you have mentioned it..." "Yes, let us ascend to our tower chamber." Oil of Roses Ch. 18 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * First thing in the morning the entire household was awakened to knocking on the front door. Harry rolled out of bed, threw on a pair of pants and answered the door. It turned out that he and Eddy were parked in the driveway and had to move so machinery could get into the back yard. "Gawddamn motherfuckin' workmen couldn't wait till 10 o'clock like any normal slackin' off cocksuckers, no, their asses had to be here before 8 gawddamn AM in the fuckin' morning." "Eddy, I guess I better fix you some coffee before you go eat some of the workmen and I have to pay you to put in the pool and renovate our bathroom," Harry said. "Fuckin' A, buddy," Eddy said, heading for the guest bath. As he relieved himself, Theresa came in and began washing her face. "Theresa, start thinking where you want me to take you for breakfast." "Yes, Edward." She turned and smiled at him, her face covered in soap suds. "And then you'll show me our new place?" "Yes, precious one, and then I'll show you our new place." In the kitchen Harry watched out the window as the crews and equipment began working. Both sides of the coffee-maker were going and the divine smell was already wafting through the house. He had to go in to the office, even though Mondays were one of his new days off on the reduced schedule. For the schedule to work, they needed an Executive Director and interviewing of applicants was beginning that day. In the bedroom, Margo looked at her suits as she decided what to wear. Her day was going to be spent looking for a family practice clinic that would take her on, as well as a cosmetic surgery practice that would let her work out of their offices one day a week. She knew neither would be too hard to find; the number of doctors willing to go into family practice was dwindling and her reputation as a cosmetic surgeon would make her welcome almost anywhere. "Will Madam require help in dressing?" Carol asked. Margo turned and kissed her pet. "No, beautiful, no help dressing... but I am spending the day with my professional peers so I'm thinking that when I get home tonight I'll probably need a screaming orgasm or two and several stiff drinks. Think my wonderful husband could help me out with those?" "Margo," Carol said, smiling, "if he's too tired to take care of you I certainly will... but I can't imagine him ever being too tired to make love to you." Carol grabbed a t-shirt and shorts from her closet and dressed. She faced the day with something of a sense of dread. She was planning on examining her bequest from Tony and knew that bittersweet .memories would haunt her though the whole process. For him to leave her his music... it was a very special thing he'd done. By the end of the day she was pretty sure she'd need a few stiff drinks herself. Upstairs Kelly woke up hearing the pounding on the door to find Jessica next to her. That was enough to make her rude awakening worth it. "Hello, beautiful" "Good morning, my sweet, sexy Jess. You look good enough to eat." "Can it wait till I pee first?" "Hmmm, maybe, if you hurry... otherwise you'll just to have to hold it." "I'll hurry," Jess said, giggling as she scampered off to the bathroom. Kelly thought about her day. She worked from 10 till 5. She'd probably have Jess come along when she went in and apply. She didn't think there'd be a problem, especially if she put in a good word with Mrs. Cao. She'd been driving for them for two years, the most senior driver in a stable whose members rarely lasted more than three months. She and the Cao's were, well, not friends, but they were certainly friendly. By the time Jess got back, two things had distracted Kelly's desire... her need to hit the bathroom herself and the aroma of coffee coming up from downstairs. She was saved from having to admit the embarrassing truth by Jess. "Kelly, it's not that I don't want your head between my legs, but that coffee just smells too good to wait for." She smiled at Jess. "I was just thinking the same thing, lover. Let's talk more about sex after some caffeine." In the kitchen Harry had been joined by Eddy and Tamara. She had barely started on her first cup while Eddy was already pouring his second. A naked Kelly came barreling down the stairs. "Harry, unless you want me to turn my attack-trained girlfriend loose on your nuts there better be enough coffee there for me." She spun into the kitchen, saw the second pot, untouched, as Harry started another brew cycle for the first pot. "God love you, Harry, you are a wise, compassionate and very handsome man," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning Sasquatch, Miss Tamara, how are you today?" Tammy smiled, "Fine, thank you." Eddy growled, "You come down here naked and bellowin' for coffee, talkin' to me like you're Karen Jr., callin' me 'Sasquatch'... why the hell don't I pick you up and throw you out back, let them workmen take care of you?" "First off, you hairy nightmare of the gene pool, because I'd fuck them all into submission. Second, I'd tell them there was a big ol' boy in here who said if he couldn't whup all their asses at once, he'd pay 'em each a thousand dollars." "You are an evil, evil woman, Kelly, and if I weren't so fond of you, I might have to have you killed." "You're too chickenshit to do it yourself, Eddy?" "Hello Kelly, I sit in the 'crazy, not stupid' section." The kitchen broke out in laughter. Harry said, "This round to Kelly." Kelly sat down next to Tamara and kissed her on the cheek. "You are looking so much better than you did a couple of nights ago. It's hard for me to believe that a few regular meals could make this much difference." Tamara cut her eyes up to Eddy. "Well, that's not all that made the difference." Kelly winked at her. "I know, but don't tell him that or he'll be impossible to live with. He'll start thinking he's in charge and shit." Carol came in. "Harry, please tell me you love me enough..." He pointed to the second pot. She squealed and ran to give him a big hug and kiss. "Anything you want, Harry, anything, you just name it," she said. Harry gave her a long hug and a kiss in return. "I have everything I want, precious," he said. Jess had been upstairs, worrying about to what to wear. Last night, tired and horny and stoned, a towel or naked had been okay, but things were different in the light of day. Finally she'd decided on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and headed down, hoping against hope that there was coffee left. She walked into the kitchen. "Harry, please tell me-" Raising his voice Harry said, "Alright, time for an announcement!" Turning to face the assembled crowd, he continued. "I am in a house with six women, any one of whom could fuck and/or beat me to death, Tamara included. The only other male in the house is a great hulking bear of a man who would ass-rape the Pope while ripping the raw flesh off live children with his teeth if that's what it took to get coffee. I love you all, and I love me in one piece. Worry not, there will always be coffee and if you should, by some freak of timing, come in when there's not a pot ready, I know exactly how long the procedure takes. From start to finish, dry pot to full steaming pot, four minutes twenty-three seconds," he said, grinning at them. Everyone looked at him, slightly stunned. Then Jess said, "Harry, have you considered switching to decaf? You seem a little testy." In the bedroom Margo heard the laughter, loud and prolonged, from the kitchen and wondered what she was missing. By the time she'd finished dressing and made it to the kitchen, the smell of breakfast tacos were filling the house. As she stepped through the door Eddy turned to her. "Whatever the fuck you do, don't ask if there's any coffee... Harry's liable to go berserk and start humpin' the teakettle." "Well, is there-" "YES!" the room answered in unison. She went to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. "Well, since we're all together, I have a surprise I've been saving. I think Benjie tried to take a drive in his Diablo. I've got voice mail from him... haven't listened to it yet, figured it might be good for a laugh." While Harry finished making breakfast for everyone, the story of the Diablo and the bed was relayed to those who didn't know it. "Y'know Margo, you're just a gawddamn evil bitch... if I didn't have Tamara, I could fall in love with a woman like you." As everyone gathered around the table and ate she played the message Benjamin had left. "Very funny, Margo... the Diablo model kit was a particularly nice touch. I hope you're enjoying your new bed, you fucking bitch." The voice on the message was calm... hateful, but calm. "That was most unusual," Margo said. "I expected incoherent screaming and death threats." Eddy looked troubled. "Yeah, that's what I was expecting too. You say that's unusual for Benjamin?" "Yeah, when he gets upset everybody knows about it. Small screaming man making everybody's, and I do mean everybody's life a living hell." "Is Benjamin a violent man?" Eddy asked, as he stared off into space. "No, he'd threaten and bully, but he was too scared to really do anything. Benjamin is a small and ineffectual man in a world of people who can kick the shit out of him. I've never worried about Benjamin doing anything physical." "I'll be right back," Eddy said as he headed for the front door. Harry walked to the bedroom to dress for work and Carol followed him in. "Sir, from now on I'll make breakfast on work days.""Why? I thought the breakfast tacos turned out well." "Oh, they did, Harry, but as the lady of the house cooking is part of my job. You and Margo have work to worry about. If you want to get in there on days when you're not going in to the office I'll gladly let you, you're a damn fine cook. But please let me do it on days you have other things to worry about." "Have I told you lately you're one of the two people I adore above all others?" She hugged him again. "Not today, sir, and although I love hearing it, you don't have to. I know it. You demonstrate your love a thousand different ways, every day, without even thinking about it." "Well, I'm going to keep telling you... mmm... and if you don't stop rubbing your delectable body against me, I'm going to be late to work for a very good reason." He smiled and patting her on the butt, shooed her out of the bedroom as he returned to dressing. After he was ready for work he went in the kitchen to get a last cup of coffee. Eddy came in from outside and found Margo and Harry still in the kitchen. "Margo, Harry, I need you to trust me." "Of course Eddy, what?" "Margo, when someone who might be considered a threat starts acting in a way contrary to their usual behavior, security people get nervous. It's a sign that they're no longer predictable and we like predictability. We like it a lot. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, if a subject is behaving in a way consistent with their normal behavior patterns, there's absolutely nothing to worry about. That one out of a hundred, well, those are the ones that give us a nightmares. Do you know what we consider the threat likelihood of a subject behaving in an atypical manner?" "No clue, Eddy." "Seventy-five percent... a three out of four probability that the subject's going to do something we really don't want him to. Your soon-to-be-ex-husband is acting in an atypical manner and that worries me." "Eddy, are you aware that when you speak in a professional capacity the quality of your use of the language improves dramatically?" "Yes, Harry, yes I am. I'm not a retarded Neanderthal; I just play one during most of my life." "Alright, so you view Benjamin as a threat. What do you want me to do?" Margo asked. He handed her a small black object with metal prongs at one end. "This is a stun gun. Any time you leave the house and aren't in the car or in a building, I want it in your right hand. Make sure that the strap is around your wrist whenever you're carrying it. This model has a pin arrangement. Someone rips it out of your hand, the strap pulls a pin out of the bottom of the unit that disables it so they can't use it on you. If someone behaves in a threatening manner towards you, you jam the prong side into them and press here. Keep it triggered till he goes down. If you have more than one assailant, use this." He handed her a can labeled 'Mace Brand Triple Action Pepper Spray'. "This stuff is a mixture of pepper spray, tear gas and a UV marking agent. There's enough for thirty-eight one-second bursts and it's got an 8 foot range. Whenever you're out in public, I want the stun gun in your right hand and your left hand in your pocket next to this can." He handed her a whistle on a chain. "Wear this around your neck at all times. When, and only when, you have your assailant or assailants down, put the whistle in your mouth and blow for all you're worth, while you're running away. Don't ever forget that last part. Find people, find a building, find a place to safely use your cell phone and call the police. Then call me. Then call Harry. "Now Margo, honey, I want you to be very, very aware of your surrounding at all times. Don't be walking along, lost in thought. Don't get out your keys and prepare to get in your car until you're sure the area around you is secure. Tonight I'm going to have Perry and Bevy back over here for you to meet them. They'll be shadowing you until Harry and I feel that there's no longer a threat to you from Benjamin. Please try not to get too nervous and inadvertently mistake them for someone stalking you." She laughed. "I'll try not to mace your boys, Eddy, but even with him acting, how did you put it, 'atypically', I don't think the little chickenshit will do anything. But I will certainly follow your instructions anyway... I'd hate to have to deal with you and my husband if I didn't and I was wrong." "I'm going to be tailing you today. Sorry Theresa; we'll have to go by the new place tonight." "That's fine, Edward. This is more important. I understand that completely and I agree with you. I'll stay here and catch up with Carol." * * * * * The week passed uneventfully for the household, in spite of Harry and Eddy's fears. Eddy and Tamara were moved into their new apartment. True to her word, she had loved it and was happily making a home for her beloved owner. Their shopping trips had revealed that their tastes in furniture were remarkably similar: simple and functional. Margo had found a family practice clinic that was more than happy to have her. Her Wednesdays were going to be spent at the third most prestigious cosmetic surgery practice in the state. Margo was going to hate Wednesdays, but the contacts she'd make would be worth it... she hoped. Jessica had indeed been hired on at Lotus Hunan. As a new driver she got the shit shifts and Kelly, already working days Monday thru Wednesday, went ahead and gave up her Friday and Saturday night shifts for Thursday and Friday days so they could work the same hours. With help from Jess and Kelly when they were available, most of Carol had spent most of her week shifting their room into the old office, the old office into the downstairs guest room, and Tony's gift to her into Harry's old bedroom where Kelly and Jess had been. She'd been studiously ignoring his bequest otherwise, even the envelope with her name on it in his handwriting. She just wasn't ready to deal with it yet. Harry and Karen's week had been one of frustration. It would require a special sort of person with a special sort of temperament to fit in at Grimes & Pinard. So far they were having absolutely no luck finding that person. Five days of interviews with some very qualified people had failed to find anyone who could handle the divine insanity that was G&P running at its best. Friday night found everyone meeting at Micky & Miguel's, an Irish pub and Tex-Mex restaurant on Austin Blvd. Margo had done her best den mother impersonation and called ahead to reserve a room. Margo felt sure she'd be first to arrive but when she was shown to the room she was greeted by Eddy and Tamara. The two of them were deep into some Micky's-style appetizers, soda bread and small bowls of lamb stew. "Margo me darlin', come have a seat and start thinkin' about what you'll be wantin' to drink," Eddy said in a passable growl of an Irish accent. "Sorry Eddy, I'm going south of the border tonight, not across the Atlantic," she replied, grabbing a seat. Eddy looked sadly at Tamara. "What can I say? She's a heathen." He picked up his Guinness, Tamara picked up her Harp. "Fuck the English!" they said in unison and drank. Margo marveled at the change in Tamara. Most people, presented with a photo of the woman taken one week before when she'd been almost carried into Chez Bubba's and one taken tonight wouldn't have believed they were the same person. The hollows in her face had filled out, her whole demeanor spoke of happiness and contentment, she moved with confidence. Her deference to Eddy and the leather collar and wrist cuffs she wore did nothing to diminish her air of self-assuredness. In fact, they seemed to be an integral part of her happiness with herself. The waitress came in and Margo ordered an appetizer of quesadillas and two shots of Cuervo Especial and a Miguel's Martini as a chaser. The Miguel's Martini was a top shelf margarita of surpassing smoothness, worthy of its reputation as 'medicinal'. "Eddy, is there any reason why Perry and Bevy can't join us for supper this evening?" Margo asked. "I can certainly call and ask them." Eddy pulled out his cell and soon had Perry on the line. After he hung up he said, "They'll be here in about a half hour. I had told them I was meeting you here, so they went off duty once you were safely inside. They were going to a showing of some film at the Alamo Drafthouse tonight, but the mention of me picking up the tab for supper changed their minds." "That's lovely Eddy, but I'm picking up the tab and if you argue, I'm going to have Kelly do vile things to you." "Okay, I'm not going to argue." Harry arrived next, looking frazzled, with Carol in tow. He kissed his wife, very thoroughly. "You look fried. What's wrong, my love?" Margo asked. "This is nothing. I was much worse before I stopped by the house to grab our pet. The heavenly hand job our darling gave me while we were driving over has calmed me down considerably." Oil of Roses Ch. 18 The waitress who had followed them in looked somewhat shocked at such conversation. Harry turned to her. "I need a plate of scones with butter, not clotted cream, a shot... no, make it two shots of Tullamore Dew with a Bass Ale, please." Carol sat down next to Margo and scooted her chair close. "I'll have a platter of Miguel's Eggroll Burritos and a Miguel's Martini please." She hugged Margo and snuggled up close to her. Harry sat down on Margo's other side. "This interviewing process is making us all crazier than shithouse rats at a broccoli festival. Everyone we've talked to has been more than qualified on the business end and nowhere near qualified on the personal end. The last person we interviewed today actually got offensive and belligerent about the way G&P operates. I thought Karen was going to deck her!" "There, there, my darling. You and Sappho will work something out. I have faith in the two of you. Are she and Trish showing up this evening?" "Oh yes, with bells on, according to what Trish told Karen. She evidently had such a wonderful time last weekend, she's been very anxious to get together with all of us again. I'm getting the feeling that in controlled circumstances Patricia is a bit of an exhibitionist. I was figuring on inviting everyone back to the house after supper." "Works for me... Eddy, did you have any luck with that purchase I asked you to make?" "Yes Margo, I got y'all more pot.""You are a gift from God, Eddy. Isn't that right, Tamara?" "Yes ma'am. He is indeed." The small woman leaned over and buried her face in Eddy's chest, breathing in deeply. "You are, Edward. Whether you ever want to believe it or not, you are." The big man leaned down and kissed her. Next to arrive were Jess and Kelly, fresh off their weekday shift, smelling of sweat and Chinese food. "Good God Almighty," Kelly exclaimed, "I'd have thought it was a Saturday night as busy as we were today." "Thank God tips were good or I might've had to hurt you badly for getting me this job," Jess said, sinking into a chair. "I'm so tired I could go to sleep sitting here." "Well, with Harry and Margo's permission, after we get home tonight I'll oil you both down and give you massages before I send you to bed," Carol said. Harry and Margo were fine with that plan. Jess and Kelly placed their order for an appetizer of El Grande Nachos and frozen margaritas. The two of them leaned against each other as they slumped in their chairs. Karen and Patricia came in. "Harry, one of two things needs to happen real soon," Patricia said. "Either summer needs to end or you need to have your pool magically finished. I have a desperate need to cool off and swimming naked sounds like a perfect way to do it." "Well, I think the odds of either happening anytime soon are rather slim but I'll see what I can do," Harry replied. "DYKE!" roared Eddy. "Do you know that your low opinion of, and disrespectful behavior towards me has rubbed off on Kelly, turning her from a polite and well-mannered young lady into crude and boisterous shrew where I'm concerned?"Karen looked at Kelly, a serious look on her face. "Is this true?" "I'm afraid so, Karen," Kelly replied, her face a mask of somber reflection. Karen broke out in a wide grin. "Fantastic, glad to have been able to help make Eddy's life a little more interesting! Oh, Eddy, by the way, your mother called, said you need to come home and give her a hand. Your daddy was diggin' an escape tunnel and burrowed straight into the septic tank. It's made a terrible mess." "Yeah, I imagine it would, 'specially after your family showed up thinking that smell meant there was a barbeque happening. Speaking of your family, when are you gonna treat your mama right and get her a set of dentures? Poor woman don't have a tooth in her head. I mean, I don't mind, makes them blow jobs she gives me real good but I can't hardly stand to listen to her talk." "That's funny, I can understand her just fine, even when she's talkin' about the pitiful size of your dick and laughin' so hard she can barely breathe. I think she just talks that way to watch the stupid, uncomprehending look on your face... no, wait, that can't be it, that's there all the time." "Nah, it's not there all the time, just when I'm around you and your family. I keep tryin' to figger out if y'all's intellectual development is stunted because of inbreeding or is your family tree just a whole passel of stupid people? Inquiring minds want to know." "Well at least my family isn't full of Sasquatch like yours is!" "This round definitely goes to Eddy," Harry said. Eddy came around the table and he and Karen went into three point stances. As they crashed together Perry and Bevy were shown in. "Well hell Eddy," Perry said, "if'n we'd know we was comin' to a wrasslin' match we'd'a brought my cousin, Boudreaux. He's a tiny feller, only about six foot three, but he's three hundred 'n' fifty pounds o' pure mean swamp-water swillin', cousin-lovin', gator-fuckin' muscle. We coulda had us some fightin' then." "What, you don't think I can take this oversized red-assed baboon?" Karen grunted as she fought to move the big man. "Oh no ma'am, that's not it at all!" Perry replied. "I figger you're gonna whup Eddy's flabby ass in about another minute or so and then what we gonna do for entertainment?" Eddy and Karen both broke out laughing and decided to call their physical show down a draw. Karen sat down with her love and they agreed to split an order of bangers and boxty cakes while Karen ordered a Guinness and Trish a Black & Tan. Perry and Bevy were introduced to the few they hadn't met yet and settled in to look at a menu. "It appears," Eddy said, "that we're all doing appetizers and drinking some before ponderin' supper too seriously." "Works for me," Perry said, "what about you, Bevy?" Bevy nodded. "Ma'am," Perry said, "I'd like the Chorizo Quesadillas with jalapenos and a Dos Equis. What do you want, Bevy?" The young man pointed to two items on the menu. "He'll have a rampaging yuppy wimp beer, I'm sorry; I mean a Corona, and an order of your Habanero Hell Nachos. Better bring two or three rampaging yuppy wimp beers." The silent Bevy whapped him on the back of the head. * * * * * "so there were seven of us; me, Harry, Cathy Breeden, Margie Delgado, Tommy Sampson, Maggie Sampson and Tanya Svoboda, sprawled out in the back of Jeannie Sampson's truck in a big ol' pile, we're trippin' to the stars and back on peyote buttons, all of us naked as the day we were born because hey, it seemed the thing to do at the time. Jeannie was sitting on the side of the bed, playin' ground control when way down the road she sees a set of lights and it looks like a spotlight shining around. She figures it's Billy 'Beaner' Seidel, our county sheriff, patrolling the back roads on a Friday night as he was prone to do. Ol' Billy got his nickname by turnin' a blind eye to the illegals various businesses in the county had hired for a little contribution to the Billy Seidel retirement fund. Yeah, this was back in the days long before political correctness. Anyway, Jeannie starts to freak 'cause she knows there's no way she can talk her way out of a truck bed full of naked trippin' teen and tweenagers, 'specially seein' as she was thirty-eight at the time and two of 'em were her kids and I at least always strongly suspected one or two others of 'em were lovers of her's. Jeannie was a hippy that the sixties never quite ended for, ya see. So she tells us all to hold on, which sounded a lot more cosmic given the state we were in, and she jackrabbits off down the road. "Now, it wasn't Billy behind us when she took off... but it sure as hell was Billy she went rip-assin' by doin' about fifty with me and Harry holdin' Tommy Sampson's hands as he stood in the back of the truck, pissin' over the tailgate. He'd said he had to go and nobody wanted him pissin' back there with us so we held on to him tight, he slowly got to his feet and just started sprayin' the road behind us. I think Jeannie was so intent on the road ahead she never even noticed. "Billy did though. "So now there's Billy, roarin' along behind us, playin' that gawddamn spot back and forth across the trees, the road, the truck, us... and in Jeannie's mirrors. Tommy decides to double flip ol' Billy off, so he jerks his hands out from ours and the only reason he didn't turn up a hood ornament for Billy was Margie. She'd gotten on her knees at the back to see what was going on and wrapped her big ol' arms around his fool ass and yanked him back down, both of 'em going backwards into the bed of the truck. Margie's head slams down on Cathy's belly and Cathy sprays out the piss we managed to avoid with Tommy." "Let me get this straight, Eddy, 'cause this is one story Harry didn't tell me when I got back to school from Spring Break that year," Karen said. "You weren't sleeping with Jeannie, and I'll assume for the sake of argument it wasn't Tommy... you mention suspecting one or two others were lovers of hers... Harry?" "Oh, no suspicion necessary," Harry replied. "If she hadn't moved to Oregon to join the Sheep's Ass Commune or whatever they called it, I'd still be happy to bed her... although I'd probably have to get the permission of my wife and my pet, if they hadn't crawled into bed with her while my back was turned. She had that whole 'Earth Mother' thing going and I've spent many happy hours 'becoming one' with her, as she put it. Plus she always had beaucoup mighty fine dope and was very generous with it... hell, we'd smoke during sex. I just wish my relationships with her, and with Cathy, hadn't waited until I was in college. I sure could've used the sex during high school" "No shit," Eddy said, "who among us couldn't have?" "So the other you suspect, Eddy, would be?" Karen asked. "Tanya... she spent a lot of time out there, supposedly helping to finish out the upstairs of that A-frame, but I never saw much progress on that project. I just know that if I showed up while Tanya was out there I'd get the pleasure of watching Jeannie get dressed in a leisurely fashion and after some thumpin' and such, Tanya would appear, fully clothed, generally from the corner room where Jeannie slept." "Harry, did you ever see evidence of Tanya having a relationship with Jeannie?" Eddy inquired. "Well shit, it's all water under the bridge... hell yeah they were having a relationship. As much time as I spent out there, I never doubted it in the least... but Tanya wasn't into multiple partners... damn it... although Jeannie wouldn't have cared, and so if she showed up, I made myself scarce. "And I'll tell you something else for free," Harry continued. "I'm not at all sure that there wasn't something going on between Maggie and Tommy and their mother. I never saw anything but circumstantial evidence, but there was beaucoup circumstantial evidence. "But anyway, enough worrying about the sexual practices of people who aren't here... this was Eddy's story about a chase." "Yeah, so Cathy pees all over Margie's back and with the wind whippin' around in the back of the truck, we're pretty much all gettin' our fair share as well. The County Sheriff is on our ass like 'syphilitic whore' on Karen's mama-" WHAP! "-Ow! And all we've got to outrun Billy in is Jeannie's truck, which had seen its better days about 10 years before. On back roads, mostly straight, there was really no way to lose him. So Jeannie did the only thing she could and headed into town. We're tearin' up the old River Road and we hit the place where it started bein' paved and Jeannie cuts to her right and then we're headin' north into the East side of town, back in the day when that was the barrio. A truckload of white people, and Margie, runnin' away from Sheriff Billy 'Beaner' Seidel, into the barrio in the middle of the night... it was some kind of 'not fun', lemme tell ya. Jeannie's cuttin' corners, drivin' through yards, Billy gradually fallin' a little behind, yellin' through his bullhorn 'cause he never got lights and siren hooked up to his own car Every vato and chica that's up that time of night, sittin' out on the porch, havin' a beer with friends or hangin' out, they've all got trackside seats for the race." "The important thing to remember through all of this," Harry interjected, "is that although Eddy's telling it as a straight narrative, there was nothing straight about it. We were all tripping balls to the wall and nobody was really sure what was happening. I would've sworn to you, under oath, if I could've stopped giggling long enough to swear to anything, that we were being chased by Captain Kangaroo and I'm damn sure I remember spending a lot of the chase trying to convince everyone that we should slow down and let the Captain catch up with us because I was sure that Bunny Rabbit was gonna dump ping pong balls on us and that would've been just too cool. Other than the peeing incident I don't think Cathy ever stopped stroking her belly and occasionally diddling herself while staring at the stars. Maggie was all the time talking to someone under her breath, sounded like maybe she was talking to God, trying to get Him to explain why one of her tits was bigger than the other. I never figured out what the fuck trip Tommie was on, but it evidently involved repeating 'Now you know and knowing is half the battle... G.I. Joe!' over and over... even when, later in the night, Cathy was riding on his dick. And Margie was desperate for someone to lick her pussy, kept saying that would 'turn the lights up', whatever that meant." "Yeah," Eddy continued, "my trip was mostly just pretty lights and colors, some sound distortion. Where Harry saw Captain Kangaroo though, I knew it was Sheriff Billy and I just wanted to get my hands on him and pay him back for the interesting time my cousin Ray had while a guest of his at the county jail. I was sure I could close on him before he could shoot me and then I was gonna stretch his asshole just like those punks had stretched Ray's. "So all of a sudden Margie remembers that her cousin Ernesto lives around there somewhere and opens up the sliding window between the bed and the cab and sticks her head in to give directions to Jeannie. "Now we're roarin' through the barrio with two hundred and somthin' pounds of naked Mexican American woman half-standin' in the bed of the truck. We end up going around blocks multiple times and doin' one-eighties in cul-de-sacs and all sorts of maneuvers while she tries to get it straight in her head where Ernesto's is and then communicate that to Jeannie. At the same time, Billy's hangin' with us. I'm not sure what the fuck he thought he was followin' but he for gawddamn sure wasn't lettin' go of it, whatever the fuck it was. "Finally Jeannie managed to shake him for a bit by cuttin' down an alley and then ziggin' through a series o' yards till we ended up about three streets away from him, near as we could figger. Turned out by fortuitous circumstance we were only a couple of blocks away from Ernesto's, once Margie got her bearings and quit tryin' to plant her deep and hairy on top of Maggie's head. Maggie was sitting with her back to the front of the cab you see. We pull into Ernesto's drive way, Margie hopped out and started bangin' on the door. Make a long story a little shorter, we spent a good chunk of the rest of the evening sitting in his kids' above ground pool, enjoying our trip and foolin' around. Jeannie's license plates was so caked with mud an' shit you couldn't have read 'em if your life depended on it and ol' Billy's hadn't. But Jeannie was still paranoid so the next morning we all piled in the back of Ernesto's pickup, and he drove us back out to Jeannie's place where we got our shit together and went home. Two days later Jeannie's truck showed up back at her place sportin' a pretty new paint job and she stopped sweatin' so much about good ol' Sheriff Billy. "That's the story of the first time Harry and I ever did peyote." * * * * * After dinner everyone but Perry and Bevy were headed back to the house. "You sure you don't want to come over?" Harry asked as they all stood in the parking lot. "No sir," Perry answered, "we still got time to get to the Drafthouse for the 10 PM showing of 'Rutabagas and Razor Blades'." "Do I even want to ask?" "It's the seminal Punk-Vegan film by Concertina Wire, one of the most experimental of the post-Punk Punk filmmakers. Her later works including 'Carrot Fuck, Carrot Stab' and the 'Bend Over, Buddha' trilogy have been recognized at film festivals the world over. They just try to keep her away from the festivals themselves since she generally ends up making some kind of protest that involves blood, vegetables, nudity and violence. She's gonna be at the showing tonight doing a Q & A after the film and signing copies of her new book 'Eating the Flesh of Your Enemies And Remaining Vegan: Punk in the Age of Dubya.'. Bevy's hoping she'll carve her autograph on his flesh." "She's my hero," said a low but pleasant voice with a gentle East Texas twang. Everyone but Perry and Eddy looked in wonder at Bevy. "Well, she is," he said, somewhat defensively. * * * * * Once everyone had arrived at the house, Margo made a point of collecting car keys from Eddy and Karen. "Look, Eddy and Tamara can take the guest bed downstairs, although they'll have to wind their way in through the office stuff while Karen and Patricia can take Nikki's old room upstairs. If Harry and I have our way, nobody's going to be in any shape to drive by the end of the evening and we'd feel safer if y'all just stayed." "Not a problem for me and the tiny precious one," Eddy said. "We were planning on crashing over anyway since I'm going to get mega-stoned." "Well, as long as you let Liz and I fix you breakfast in the morning, we don't have a problem, do we honey?" Patricia said. "No, but sooner or later, someone's gonna need to make a run to the grocery," Karen replied. "I might as well do it now before anyone starts partaking of illicit pharmaceuticals. "HARRY! Do you realize I'm about to be exposed, full blast, to the evil and depraved drug use I managed to avoid the entire time you and I lived together?" "Yes, Sappho my love, and while outwardly I am calm and tranquil, inside I'm giggling my motherfucking ass off!" "Harry, I may have to beat you. Does anyone need anything else from the store? "No? "Then off to H.E.B. I go! See y'all in a bit with breakfast feast makings," Karen said as she headed out the door. Kelly and Jess headed upstairs to hit the shower and everyone else got comfortable. Patricia walked over to an odd looking piece of furniture. It was two adjustable, padded chairs in reclining positions, facing in opposite directions, facing each other, one over the other. The arms, foot supports and head rests of each had places to attach straps or other forms of restraints. The upper chair had even more restraint points including the thighs and across the chest and abdomen. "Margo, what in the world is this chair for?" "Trish, imagine yourself in the upper chair. Now imagine Karen in the lower. Roughly where is her face in relation to your body?" "Right in my crotch... ooooh... I like that... I gather all the adjustability is for comfort?" "Right you are. One night this last week I came home desperately needing release. Harry was willing but tired himself. I got in the upper, he got in the lower, adjusted it and he licked my pussy for a little over two hours without his muscles cramping up or getting a crick in his neck. Now, his tongue was a wee bit tired, but he said compared to what would've been tired and spasming if we'd done that without the chair, it was a small price to pay." Oil of Roses Ch. 18 "And the holes and such?" "Places to attach O-rings and D-rings for restraints... you can secure the bottom in place so they can't escape you putting your crotch in their face or you can far more securely restrain the top so there's no escape from your oral, or other, attentions. Carol's strapped me down in the upper and fucked me senseless with a strap-on. I was comfortable, but I couldn't get away and I couldn't move. I wanted so much to touch her and kiss her but I was helpless. It's an interesting feeling." "Uh, would you mind if Liz and I tried it at some point tonight?" "Just obey the house rule, put a towel down and clean up after yourselves. We won't mind at all. We can even loan you some straps if you'd like to try those." "Uh, no thanks, not on a first test drive... although the thought of being strapped in on bottom with Liz forcing me to eat her... yep, I'm wet." "You have a bit of a submissive streak, don't you Patricia?" Patricia looked at her, eyebrows raised. "Geez, ya think?" she asked, sarcastically, a smile on her face. The two women laughed together as they settled into the cushions on the living room floor. Eddy came out of the guest bedroom carrying Tamara in his arms. He was wearing a pair of black silk boxer shorts, covered with tiny red hearts while she was clothed in nothing more than what God had given her at birth. "Day-um Eddy... not only do you now wear underwear but you're stylin' as well," Margo exclaimed. "Yeah, figgered if I was gonna associate with hedonists, nudists and other depraved perverts I might want to at least start the evening with a touch of modesty. And Theresa here thought these looked best on me." "He's still a little shy," Tamara said, reaching down to run her hand along Eddy's leg, "but if all it takes to make him comfortable is some silk, I'll gladly caress him while he wears it." "Oh shit, my woman's a little hedonist too," Eddy said in mock horror. "Ahyup, sure enough," she said in a ludicrous impersonation of Eddy. As they all laughed, Margo got up. "If you will excuse me, I'm going to go see what's keeping my husband and our pet... although I have a pretty good idea," she said, smiling and winking at Eddy. "If you want to, Eddy, fire up the pipe. Otherwise, you know where the booze is, please, everyone, help yourselves... this may take a bit." Margo walked into the bedroom to find about what she'd expected. Carol and Harry making love in the middle of the bed, her on her back, him on top. "Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" she asked. "Not... anyone... Madam... just... you..." Carol panted. "Yeah honey... you know... you're welcome..." Harry added. "Just checking," Margo said as she climbed on the bed, straddled Carol's body and lowered her pussy to her pet's waiting mouth. She entwined her arms and Carol's, gripping the woman tightly. "Eat me, Baby Girl." "Yes... Madam." Harry gazed into his wife's eyes as their pet started to work her magic on her. There was nothing but love and joy there... well, those and a lot of lust right at the moment. "Yeah... I came in here... realized I was very horny... figured I'd better do something about it... or else I might've ended up... humping Eddy..." he said. "Ummm," she moaned, "I understand completely. And after all, what's a pet for if not relief at such times?" The squeal of joy from Carol heralded her first orgasm. As the woman's body shimmied and shook she redoubled her efforts to bring her Madam pleasure. Margo leaned forward as her inner tension rose towards exploding and kissed her husband. Between the orgasmic spasms of the pussy he was so delightfully buried in and the feel of his wife's lips and tongue playing with his, Harry was helpless to stop his own climax. Although he wouldn't have thought it possible, he managed to sink even deeper inside Carol as his orgasm shook him like an electric shock. He slipped out of her and crawled backwards, and then around behind his wife. "Bend over, my love," he said. "Ummm, double the fun," she purred. After she had readjusted herself to a position on her hands and knees that was comfortable for her, Carol resumed licking and sucking at Margo's clit while Harry began to kiss and lick her asshole. As Margo's nipples relished their brushing across Carol's belly, she reflected, in a rather disjointed fashion, that there were a lot of people in the world who had no business in a multiple partner relationship. There were times where, if she were less secure in the love she and Carol had for each other, she'd certainly be one of them. But oh the joys they were missing... two mouths... four hands... thank God she was in love and loved by these two wonderful people. She lowered her head to Carol's warm, wet mound and began to return the favor. Her nose filled with the scent of Carol's juices and her husband's cum as she licked and nibbled, losing herself in the act of loving and being loved. Her husband's tongue thrust into her asshole as her pet's tongue thrust into her cunt. She sucked and pulled at Carol's clit with her lips, moaning deep in her throat as she felt her control lessening and then she gave herself over to the orgasm, pausing in her oral assault long enough to murmur "I'm gonna fall down now". Carol braced herself, holding her lover's hips to avoid losing contact with her prize as Margo slumped down. Carol wrapped her arms and legs around her Madam's body, holding it tight as it bucked and twitched, keeping her lips and tongue firmly at work on Margo's swollen clitoris. Harry held his wife's ass cheeks apart and drove his tongue in as far as it could go as he felt her collapse down on Carol. On his back stroke he paused long enough to ask "Are you okay or do we need to roll her over?" "I'm fine for awhile, sir, thank you." Margo, oblivious to it all, her eyes rolled back in her head, rode swell after swell of orgasm, her legs squeezing and relaxing around Carol's head as the climaxes ebbed and flowed. Finally she moaned "Enough... turn loose." As Carol released her she rolled onto her side, gasping for breath. She watched Harry gather their beloved pet onto his lap and use his hand to finish bringing her to the orgasm Margo had started her towards. Margo studied them as Harry cradled her and rocked her back and forth while she shook. Just as she and Harry had the bond of their school years and the years they'd known each other as adults, he and Carol had a bond that she'd never be a part of... just as she and Carol had a bond he couldn't be a part of. Sometimes the complexity of it scared her... but then she'd realize that when in danger or in doubt, loving each other usually could get them past any confusion. Once Carol could focus again, Margo told her, "Put on your breechcloth and go get us drinks, and then get water and towels and clean us." "Yes Madam, right away," Carol replied, smiling. She wrapped a simple belt around her waist and ran a piece of black cotton cloth between her legs, tucking in under and over the belt in the front and the back. She hurried out of the bedroom. Harry and Margo moved up to sit against the headboard of the bed. "She really is happiest when she's being of service, when she's being of use, isn't she?" he observed. "Yes, she is." "And that's not a headspace I'm very good at maintaining, is it?" "Nope." "Good thing you're around to meet that part of her needs." "Ahyup." The two of them laughed together. "I can't keep it up all the time," Margo said, "but it definitely appears there's more of the Dom in me than in you." "And I'm perfectly alright with that," he replied, hugging his wife. "Although it was nice to find out you've a bit of the Sub in you as well." She kissed him on the cheek. "Baby, I'll roll over for you anytime you want." Carol returned with their drinks and scurried off again. Harry took a good-sized mouthful of his, swirled it around his mouth thoroughly and swallowed. "Now I feel safe to kiss the woman I married.""Harry... honey... it was my ass.""Still, I didn't say it bothered you, I said it bothered me." "But you don't mind kissing me after I've been rimming you or Carol..." "You're right, I don't. My problem is with me kissing someone else after I've done it and nothing else. Now give me a kiss you beautiful, sexy, ravishing..." He got no farther in his sentence. Carol returned with a basin of warm water and towels to find them kissing, their drinks barely held upright. She gently took their drinks from them and placed them on a bedside table, then began to clean them as they held each other and continued to kiss each other, their mouths roaming over each others' faces and necks and chests. Her ministrations were barely noticed as her owners fell into each other like the teenagers in the throes of 'first love' that they still were, on some level. After she was finished with the two of them she removed her breechcloth and cleaned herself. As she did so she pondered the way God or the Universe had of working things out. She was meant to be with Harry and with Margo, of that she had no doubt. If the two of them had come together in high school, or at any other time before their most recent reconnection, Carol doubted she'd have ever met either of them. And then she thought of Angie and the scars that Harry bore, the wounds that still weren't healed. She thought of Benjamin Sapperstein and the toll his neglect and casual emotional abuse had exacted from Margo. She thought about all the men in her life... she thought about Rick... and she thought that while God might work in mysterious ways, sometimes He was just an asshole. When she finished her own clean up, she knelt by the side of the bed. Margo had been keeping half an eye out for Carol to finish and no sooner had Carol's knees hit the floor than Margo motioned her up onto the bed. "Come on, my sweet, cuddle with us." The three of them lay together, drawing warmth and love from each other. "Well, while I'd love to lay here like this with the two of you all night, we do have guests," Harry said after awhile. "True, think what erotic and exotic sights we're missing while hiding in here," Margo added. "Madam, sir, promise me that sometimes we can just spend our time cuddling like this for as long as we like?" "It's a promise, sweetness," Harry said. "It is indeed," Margo agreed as they held their beloved pet tightly and kissed her. Oil of Roses Ch. 19 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * As the trio wandered out of the bedroom they saw that Karen had made it back from the grocery and was reclining in a corner in sports bra and briefs, sipping a drink while Patricia sat naked at the pipe with Eddy and Tamara. Of Kelly and Jessica there was no sign, although there might have been some suspicious thumping noises from upstairs. Karen, seeing them enter, waved them over. "Harry, I had an idea on the way back and it took all the willpower I had not to bust in and tell you about it." "Well Sappho, you could've come in, but I'm not sure how much attention I could have paid to anything or anyone but these two exquisite beauties," he said, hugging Margo and Carol. "Yeah well, I figured that which is why I waited. But you're out now, so listen. The biggest problem we're having finding an Executive Director is that no one we're interviewing has ever worked anywhere like G & P." "That's because there is nowhere else like G & P," Harry said, sitting down on a cushion near her. Margo and Carol exchanged knowing looks. "If you two Captains of Industry will excuse us, we're going to go hit the pipe," Margo said, her hand caressing Carol's ass. "Sure thing honey, be there in a bit," Harry responded, his mind already lost in their problems at the office. "Uh huh, sure he will," Margo murmured to Carol as they walked off. "So," Karen continued, "why not bring up someone who's already at G & P?" Harry was intrigued but saw problems right away. "Well, to begin with, none of them have the training or the education." "Well, just what training and education did you and I have in running a company like G & P? Experience, they can get on the job itself, with you and me as mentors. Education, G & P can pay for with night classes. I know it'll be a big commitment to ask someone to make, so I thought why just bring up one? Bring up three at the same time. That way we know they have the grounding in how we do business and then we structure our time and schedules so that the major shit comes down Tuesday through Thursday when we're both there, on Mondays and Fridays it's kept light and they've got the ball, with one of us on call if they need us." Harry began to see the possibilities. "Yeah, I already know seven or eight people I think could grow into the positions. You're probably thinking of the same seven or eight. Hell, Sappho, we set this shit up right, we could effectively retire in eight to ten years." "Yeah Harry, except you're the guiding light of the creative genius department and I'm the head detail wizard. But could we cut our time back dramatically? Oh, hell yeah." At the pipe, Margo and Carol joined Patricia, Eddy and Tamara. "Damn Eddy, those are some badass briefs," Carol said, eyeing the silk boxers. "I can tell that Tammy picked those out for you." "Are you intimatin' that I ain't got no taste when it comes to clothin'?" Eddy grunted. "No Eddy, I'm just saying that I'd expect to see you picking up black silk boxers with skulls on them, or flames, or motorcycles..." "I wouldn't let him get the ones with skulls or flames," Tamara said, snuggled up next to him, "but there is another pair he keeps at home with the cutest-" "Hush woman," Eddy growled. "That's one of those things we don't share with these hedonistic heathens." "Yes sir," the tiny woman said demurely. "Sorry ladies, can't say what they are, but he is just so cute-" "Hush!" "Yes sir," she said, smiling, "adorable, really he is... eek... I'm hushing sir!" she squealed as Eddy effortlessly scooped her up, brought her to his mouth and began blowing raspberries on her belly and thighs. From the stairs came a call, "To her defense, sister! The Junior Bisexual Drum & Bugle Corp charges forth to deal with the belly-frapper!" With howls like wolves scenting their prey Kelly and Jessica charged down the stairs and clambered over cushions towards Eddy and Tamara. As if she'd been a stoner all her life Margo gracefully swept the hookah up and moved it out of the way, sensing the free-for-all that was to come. "Lesbian Auxiliary, form ranks... charge!" bellowed Karen as she came out of the corner and, together with Patricia, howled as the two of them crawled towards Eddy. "Oh shit," was all Eddy had time to say as he set Tamara safely to one side before the tide of femininity overwhelmed him. "Find out where he's ticklish girls!" yelled Kelly, wrapping herself around one of Eddy's arms and running the fingers of one hand up and down his side. Harry sat down beside his wife and pet. "I think Sappho's figured out the solution to our-" "Hush, Harry," said Margo, putting the tip of a hose in his mouth. "I knew you and Karen would figure something out but tonight is a night to relax and have fun. Besides, there's a floor show." Indeed there was. At the moment Kelly was on one arm, Patricia on the other, while Jessica knelt behind his head tickling his neck and Karen laid across his legs, working on getting her fingers behind his knees. Eddy was fighting back valiantly but his innate gentle nature had him handicapped before the fight even began, a fact his opponents made shameless use of. Between his ribs, his neck and the backs of his knees, he was helplessly ticklish. "Tamara..." he gasped, "help me... please..." "Yes sir." The tiny woman carefully looked for who she'd be least likely to hurt and climbed up on Karen's back, wrapping her legs around Karen's chest and pulling on her shoulders in a vain attempt to get her off Eddy. Margo looked at Carol. "Should we?" "Oh, let's." "Grimes Brigade, form ranks, CHARGE!" Margo hollered as she and Carol entered the fray, attacking the soles of Eddy's feet. "Harry... help..." Eddy said as he twisted and turned. "Sorry old buddy, I may be a hedonistic heathen, as you so eloquently put it, but I draw the line at giving aid and assistance to belly-frappers." "Bastard," Eddy wheezed. Eddy was in hell. If his tormentors were male he could have resolved the issue handily and if they were all women like Karen he could have at least fought back but he writhed in tortured ticklish agony beneath an assault he couldn't let himself fight as he knew he'd hurt them too easily. Kelly's warm flesh was wrapped around his left arm and his hand was unable to escape being trapped between her breasts. His right arm was held between Patricia's thighs and it was all he could do not to twitch in a way she might take as an attempt to feel her up. Anytime he opened his eyes he was staring up into Jessica's jiggling tits and evil smile. The sensation of Karen's muscular and well-defined ass, squirming against his legs was far from unpleasant. His lower legs were being weighted down by Carol and Margo, their naked crotches pressed against his shins. He could feel the warmth of their cunts and the softness of their pubic hair. In the end, his body handled the situation in a way his mind would not have thought of. Suddenly Karen sat bolt upright. "EEWWW, COCK COOTIES! This Neanderthal Sasquatch throwback has a hard-on! Kelly, trade places with me." "Uh-uh," Kelly said while the assault fell to pieces as everyone began laughing. "That big woody is in your territory, you deal with it." "I don't know how," Karen said, laughing. "I'm pretty damn sure Tamara'd be upset if I pulled it off and put it in the bedside drawer and I've got no idea where the off-switch is." "Never mind ladies, I'll deal with it later," Tamara said, as she helped Eddy scoot back onto some pillows. As the parties disentangled themselves Harry was studying his pet. A thought had occurred to him and if he was going to do anything about it, tonight was the time to set it up. "Carol, sweetheart," Harry said, "do me a favor and go make up a big pitcher of citrus water. I know we've got lemons and oranges, add a lime or two if you think they're not to bitter, add some Splenda to sweeten it some. I'm thinking you should use those two two-gallon pitchers in the cabinet." "Yes sir. Would anyone else like anything from the kitchen while I'm up? No? Alright, two pitchers of citrus water coming up." She padded off into the kitchen. As she pulled the large glass pitchers out of the cabinet she heard Harry speaking in the living room in low tones. Her pulse quickened and a cold sweat broke out on her brow. Fear gripped her and she put the second pitcher down before she dropped it. She sank down to the floor, pulling her knees tightly to her chest. "Harry is not Rick. Harry is not Rick. Harry is not Rick." Being sent out of the room while discussions went on behind her back at Rick's had been the precursor to unpleasant experience after unpleasant experience. As the tears leaked out of her eyes she changed her refrain. "These people love me. These people love me. These people love me." She knew they'd never plan anything nasty or hateful to spring on her. She knew it beyond a shadow of a doubt. There was absolutely nothing to worry about. But the fear inside her was irrational and all the 'knowing' in the world wasn't going to change a thing. She sat in the corner, tears streaming down her face, teetering on the edge of panic. She fought her fear with all she had but she was losing. In that fear she felt her whole happy world falling down around her shoulders. She was going to go out into the living room and there'd be a group of men she didn't know and the abuse would begin. Rick would make them wear condoms but otherwise there would be few if any rules and Harry and Margo and Eddy and Kelly and Jessica and Karen and Patricia would laugh at her as she became a party favor again and Tamara would just look on in sorrow and- Tamara walked in to the kitchen. "Carol, I came in to see if I could... what's wrong, baby?" she asked as she ran to Carol and sank down to her knees to hug her. Carol stammered out her explanation as best she could through her tears as Tamara held her and stroked her hair. "No sweetie, I was out there. It's nothing like that. Shh, don't worry. Sure, Harry has planned something for you but it's nothing mean or nasty." "You promise me?" Carol said between sobs. "I promise you on my love for Edward. Nothing bad will come of the talk Harry had with us all." "God, I feel like such an idiot. I know Harry would never hurt me." "No, don't feel that way. After what we've been through we're entitled to feel a little schizoid from time to time. If Harry had known what buttons his doing this was going to push in you, he'd have found another way. You know that. He and Margo love you so much they could never do anything mean or hateful to you. You're going to be okay, sweetie." Tamara held her friend until her sobbing stopped. "Alright, why don't you and I get those pitchers filled and then let's get out there and relax with our families?" "That sounds good to me." In the living room Kelly had snuggled up next to Harry and Jess had snuggled up next to Margo. "What is this, divide and conquer?" Margo asked. "Well, while we're staying monogamous outside of the family and most nights inside the family, on party nights we figured we'd try opening up our relationship to family members," Kelly replied. "Yeah," Jess added, "besides, keeping Kelly and Harry away from each other might constitute cruel and unusual punishment." She looked up shyly at Margo. "And I think you're the second sexiest woman I've ever seen." "Let me guess, Kelly being the sexiest, right?" Margo responded. "Oh no, Salma Hayek... I think she's just OW!" Jessica was hit in the head with a pillow. "Of course, Kelly, the sexiest, yes, what ever could I have been thinking to say otherwise where my psycho lover could hear me?" She grinned. "Heathens and hedonists," came Eddy's comment from around the hose tip. "I'm in a house with unbelievers, pagans, probably even, GASP, liberals!" "Well I don't know you dope smoking gorilla, you procure pot for your friends. You are the proud and happy owner of a slave girl. I've talked politics with you and when I could decipher your simian hoots and grunts you sounded like a liberal yourself," Karen said from where she and Patricia were curled up. "Oh my GOD, you people have infected me with your vile ways! Any minute now I might start feeling compassion for those less fortunate than myself! Quick, I must go kill a small animal with a large handgun and suck its entrails out its butt in a bizarre yet oddly masculine ritual of death and oral gratification! Or maybe I should just suck the barrel of my penile-substitute hand gun! Or suck a dick... suck the dick of someone holding my hand gun! Harry, stay right where you are, I'll be back in a moment with my .44 Automag!" Eddy got up and made it halfway to the door before wailing "Oh no, I didn't bring it with me. I suppose I'll just have to be a Liberal!" That said he went and sat back down to riotous laughter and thunderous applause. "Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all night, try the lovely young African-American, she's very nice... OW!" Another pillow had flown through the air, catching him in the nuts. Carol and Tamara came through the door carrying a pitcher of water and plastic tumblers. Harry motioned Carol over. "Sweetie, I'm gonna need these people sober and preferably not hung over tomorrow around 2 in the afternoon. You know what to do." "Yes sir." As Carol and Tamara started everyone on a rehydration regimen Karen got up and slowly circled the room, having a few words with everyone. Patricia was blissfully stoned, half-asleep on a pile of pillows. After she'd spoken to everyone, she gently roused her love while Margo headed for the bedroom. Patricia toddled over and climbed into the upper chair of the 'eat-me-seat' and then lay back, happily relaxed. Margo emerged from the bedroom and started strapping her into the seat. "Wha-," Patricia began, partially sitting up. "It's okay, sweetie," Margo said. "Karen knew you wanted to give it a full test drive so she had me bring out the straps and such." Patricia looked at her partner and smiled. "I love you Liz." "Love you too, Trish," Karen replied. "Now just lay back like a good girl, I'm driving." "Yes ma'am." And with that, Patricia lay back. Once all the straps and restraints were in place, Karen placed a ball-gag in Patricia's mouth and tightened it down. Patricia's eye's opened in surprise. "Relax, I told you I was driving. Now calm down." Patricia grunted something that sounded suspiciously like 'fat chance'. Then Karen put the blindfold on her. "Okay sweetie, give me a minute to get situated then hold on to your garter belt." Karen settled into the lower seat, adjusting it for her height and to provide back and neck support. Once she was comfortable, with tenderness few who saw her physique would have believed her capable of, she began to kiss, nibble and lick her partner's cunt. Harry and Eddy sat back and watched, loading a bowl and firing it up. As Patricia rapidly warmed to the gestalt of the experience: her lover's attentions, the restraints, the ball-gag, the blindfold, she seemed to strain against her imprisonment in all directions at once. Karen motioned with her hand. Margo moved to Patricia's left side, lowered her mouth to the bound woman's breast and began sucking, running her hands over Patricia's body. A keening moan could be heard from Patricia through the gag. With another signal from Karen, Kelly did the same on the right side. The moan got louder as Kelly's hands and mouth worked on the captive. Karen, while continuing her oral attentions, slowly began working a lubricated plug into her lover's ass. Patricia responded with a squeak in the midst of her moans but otherwise remained lost in the sensations. Carol emerged from the kitchen with a foot-stool and, placing it behind Patricia's head, climbed up and began to kiss and caress her head and shoulders. The moans became a sort of sobbing. Tamara moved to Patricia's left leg and began to caress it, kissing her way up and down the length of it while Jessica moved to her right leg and did the same. The trembling of Patricia's body was constant as sharp, hooting cries made their way through the ball-gag. Karen, continuing to lovingly eat her partner, turned the butt-plug on. The low humming quickened the pace of Patricia's cries. "You know, you just can't find this kind of entertainment on television," Harry commented. "I've tried and even HBO and the Playboy Channel are missing the mark." "You're right," Eddy replied. "Hell, they don't even make porno's this good. Last porno I rented, 'Butt Bandits of Birmingham', pales in comparison." Karen's upraised middle finger provided an eloquent reply as her shoulders shook with laughter. "You rented 'Butt Bandits of Birmingham' too? Oh man, do you remember that scene where that one guy, what was his name, Bert? Yeah, Bert, he was slathering on that pink lotion all over that girl's ass-" "Yeah, was that not some o' the silliest shit you ever seen? I mean, it looked like pink cum and it was everywhere!" Whack! Whack! "Got both of 'em for you Karen," Kelly said before returning to teasing Patricia. Karen's upright thumb provided an eloquent reply as Harry and Eddy picked up the pillows they'd been hit with, wondering to themselves how Kelly had achieved such deadly accuracy. Patricia, in the meantime, was lost in a world of her own. Her lover knew her well, knew about this fantasy, knew how Patricia would never bring herself to ask Karen for this. She knew Karen's jealousy issues and knew that this would be at the very least hitting the edges of those issues. And yet here Karen was, giving her this gift, borrowing their friends' mouths and hands to give her an experience she had only dreamed of. She knew she had no interest, other than the occasional flash of lust, in any of the women helping Karen... and she knew if she was smart she'd drag Karen away to their bed for the night and reassure her that she had no interest in them. But for now, Patricia Keller told herself to quit thinking so much and just enjoy the gift. Harry and Eddy watched as six women, each beautiful, although with Karen it was an unconventional beauty, teased and stimulated a lovely seventh. "Harry," Eddy said quietly, "did you ever imagine, back when we were kids and those hormones first started kicking in, that you'd ever see anything so beautiful in person?" Oil of Roses Ch. 19 "No, never did. Of course, I spent a lot of those years convinced I'd never see a live woman naked at all unless I paid her, so my dreams were sort of aimed low," Harry responded, his voice a low murmur. "Since it's obvious that you and Tamara are deeply in love and you're happier than I've seen you in... well, ever... do you ever find yourself just sending a quiet prayer of thanks up to heaven?" "Every gawddamn day, Harry, every gawddamn day," Eddy replied. "I never knew how ugly I'd let my world become. I never knew how hopeless I'd let myself get. I used to take some kind of perverse pride in the fact that while I was fucked up, I wasn't as bad off as you. Now I realize I was pretty much as fucked up as you were, I just hid it better. It's like my world had no color in it and now it's nothing but colors everywhere I look. It's beautiful. She's beautiful." "Yeah, yeah she is. So are Carol and Margo. I can't imagine how I lived before they were a part of my life." "Well, from what I could tell, you weren't doin' much livin'... you were barely managin' survivin' on your better days. Unless you wanna talk about the time you spent with Angie..." "Eddy, do try not to say that name again or I'm going to try to hurt you, you're going to hurt me, Carol and Margo are going to hurt you, Tamara's going to hurt me, who knows what the fuck Kelly and Jessica will do... it'd be a mess. Really, much easier not to mention her." "My bad." Then the two old friends sat and watched as Karen inserted a vibrating dildo and Patricia lost any control she might have had left. Minute after minute passed and orgasm after orgasm rippled through her body in varying intensities until it was evident to everyone that Patricia wasn't home anymore. Karen stood up, stretching and popping her neck. "Ladies," she said around a slightly sore tongue, "thank you all for your help in making Trish's fantasy come true. I know she'll thank you when she can speak again." Then waving off offers of help, she removed the toys and unstrapped her lover, removing the gag and blindfold. Patricia appeared to be unconscious. "Let me get her up to bed and I'll be back down to clean up," Karen said. "No, no you won't," Carol replied, "because if you are I'll try mightily to kick your ass and fail miserably. I'll clean up; you go be with your woman. I'll be up with some water and aspirin for y'all in a bit." Karen smiled in thanks and put Patricia over her shoulder. "Ah well," she said, looking at Patricia's ass next to her face, "it may not be romantic, but it beats trying to climb those stairs with her in my arms. "Don't forget, we're making breakfast in the morning. Bring an appetite." And with that, she headed upstairs. Carol began cleaning the chair and Tamara pitched in, helping her without saying a word. As the two of them worked, Margo, Kelly and Jess came and sat down around the pipe. After Carol and Tamara finished and Carol made her run upstairs, they sat down and joined the party. "That went well I think," Margo said, leaning against Harry's shoulder. "It looked like it. Did any of you think to try to count Patricia's orgasms?" Harry asked. "Men, always with the quantifying and calculating," Kelly said as she reclined in Jess' lap. "No Harry, I don't think anyone counted. Of course, to be fair, I don't think anyone could have counted there at the end." "Harry, I'm thinkin' it was 'many many'," Eddy said, chuckling. Harry burst out laughing. "Excuse me, 'many many'?" Margo said. "We were at a dance one night, little VFW hall in a small town about seventy-five miles from here," Eddy said. "Just me and Harry, roaming around on a Friday night, trying to pick up women or find something else to do. Well, on the way, we'd grabbed a couple of fifths of bourbon, Ezra Brooks, Fine Kentucky Sippin' Rotgut, and so we were kinda loaded when we got to this dance. We both had to piss somethin' fierce, so we head for the men's room and we're standin' at the urinal and in walks the biggest redneck I've ever seen in my life. Motherfucker made me look small and delicate-" "I'll take it from here, Sparky, you're liable to leave out salient points of interest," Harry said, interrupting him. "So this big cowboy type walks up, pulls out his dick and starts to pee. Ol' Eddy here decides to take a better look at him so he turns to face him... neglecting to stop his flow of urine first. Pees all over this dude's leg, I mean he soaks him. This good ol' boy gets a look on his face like I imagine God had when they were killing his kid and so I start talking a mile a minute, apologizing for him while I'm turning this big dumb ass around so he can pee in the urinal again. I'm telling the ol' boy that we were drunk, he didn't mean anything by it, surely he'd been that drunk before, accidents happen, I'll take him straight home... I think I did everything but offer to blow this guy so he'd let Eddy live. Finally he grins, says yeah, he's been that drunk before, no harm done. I tell Eddy it's time for us to go home and I'll be waiting for him in the truck. I leave. "I'm about halfway across the parking lot when there come Eddy running his ass off. He blazes past me and I start running to catch up, hollering to ask him what was wrong. He said-" "I peed on him again," Eddy said in a monotone. "So I start running faster," Harry continued, "and I ask our friend the diplomat here, how many are comin' after us. He responds-" "One... two... many... many many," Eddy said, trying not to laugh. "Yeah, so by the time we get to the truck, I look back and we've got about twenty good ol' boys piling into their pickups all gonna chase us down and kick our asses. We're in Eddy's truck, which means we're goddamned lucky it runs at all. Asking it to outrun a bunch of shitkickers' pride and joy's is an exercise in futility. Eddy's clearly too drunk to drive, so was I but at least I could fake it. God knows I'd been faking it most of the evening, so I get behind the wheel, crank her up, put her in gear and floor her, pull out on the highway and start weaving back and forth, pretty much from one side of the road to the other. "Sure enough, there was a cop lying in wait for drunks leaving the dance. He pops his lights on and pulls us over. Neither of us could, or wanted to, pass a field sobriety test, we tell him where we're from and he tells us we're spending the night in the drunk tank and he'll let us go in the morning." "So you intentionally got picked up by the cops to avoid getting your ass beat," Jessica said. "You bet your cute butt we did," Eddy said. "We'd been in a drunk tank before. It was likely we'd make it out of there in one piece. With a crowd of rednecks ready to beat us to a pulp, the odds were slightly reversed. So yeah, the nice police officer put us up for the night, the truck was safe in the police lot, and we drove home the next morning. "But from this experience and my drunken ineptitude with mathematics comes 'many many'." "Ah, now I understand," Margo said, laughing. "Well, I think I'm going to take my tiny treasure and go to bed. Yes Carol, we'll be taking water and aspirin with us, although I'm pretty sure a hangover won't be a problem. Good night to you, one and all." Eddy led Tamara off to the bedroom, taking the remains of the pitcher with him. "Cap'n," Margo said in her Second Mate Mounds voice, "lookee what we got us on our raid tonight. Me and Twat got us this juicy young cutie here to split between us, as it was, and we brung ye this dusky jewel. We'll be in your cabin, introducin' this one to the joys of a life at sea. Ye take care t'other one out here in the salon. If ye be needin' any help, just give out a yell an' we'll come a runnin'." Mounds quickly bound Jessica with the straps from the chair and she and First Mate Twat carried her into the Captain's Cabin. "Captain," Kelly asked fearfully, "what do you plan to do with me?" "Twat," the Captain bellowed, "bring me back some silk scarves to tie this wench up with!" "Aye aye, sir," came the faint reply from the cabin. "Normally," the Captain said, leering at his captive as he held her wrists in his hands, "we'd sell ye off at the first port we come to. We wouldn't be takin' many liberties with ye in the meantime, as it might lower the price we'd get, plus with my First and Second Mate's around, me carnal needs are taken care of regular like." As Twat emerged from the cabin, the Captain straddled his prisoner's body and held her down as Twat bound her, hand and foot. Her mission accomplished, Twat returned to the despoiling of their other prize. "But seein' as how ye and your companion are such exceptional beauties," he continued, stroking her dark skin with his hands as he arranged her on the cushions, "I'm thinking your charms are too good for the likes of port scum, so we'll be keepin' ye ourselves." "Harry," she whispered, breaking character, "have I told you lately that I love you?" Harry looked at her like a pole-axed steer. "Don't get all weird, Harry, it's not the kind of love you need to worry about. It's just the kind of love that is. I'm not completely sure why. I know I love Carol and Margo the same way, and I'll tell them when the right time comes along. Part of why I love y'all is that you can play. I don't know why I need 'play' in my life so badly, I never really felt the lack of it, but it's something I'm craving now and y'all do it beautifully. So I thought I'd take a quick moment to tell my friend that I love him. "Now you wicked man, do your worst to me, exercise your perverted lusts upon me! My soul shall remain pure even if you defile my body!" "In a moment, wench, you'll get defiled all right!" He lifted Kelly's bound form into his arms and held her tenderly. "I love you too, Kelly, not the kind of love you have to worry about, just the kind that is. I know part of the reason for me is that you can play with us but a bigger part is that even though we can be intimate with each other, you're still primarily my friend and I've been blessed with the best friends a man can have, present company included. And that because under your beautiful exterior, you have one of the kindest and bravest hearts I know. Jessica is a very lucky woman." "That's funny, so are Margo and Carol." "If you say so, darling... now then, prepare for defilement!" "Whatever you do, you horrible brigand, please, leave me my virtue! I beg you, don't sheath your vile sword in my tender maidenhood! Leave me chaste and virginal so that I might someday find a husband and raise a family!" "To hell and Davy Jones with your pathetic whimperin', bitch! They only way ye'll be able to land a husband by the time this crew is through with ye is by lying your pretty ass off about how ye spent your youth! Ye'll have to find some poor dumb landlubber who'll believe your daft tale of missionary work in the islands or some such." Harry draped her over a pile of cushions. "Now then, stop your whinin' and cryin' or I'll gag ye and forget to take it out for a day or three. Heave to and prepare to be boarded." Holding her by her hips, relishing the feel of her flesh in his hands, he slid his cock into her finding her as he suspected wet and ready. "Me thought ye were protestin' too much, wench! Now your body'll do the talkin' that'll give the lie to what your lips be sayin'." Slowly he slid in and out of his prisoner, listening to her whimpers become the moans they'd always yearned to be. Gradually his pace increased as he felt the rhythm of her muscles, contracting and pulsing around his cock, urging him to fuck her faster. "Oh, to Hell and Damnation with this," he spat as he roughly pulled out, untied her feet and pulled her down to a pile of pillows on the salon deck, positioning her on her back. "Ye give me any trouble with them feet o' yours and I swear to God Almighty that Twat will wear out a cat o' nine on your hide." "Stop your threats you vile bastard and fuck me!" she responded, grabbing at him with her legs to draw him in. "As the Lady commands," he replied sardonically, lowering himself on and in her. As he sank back into the warm depths of her cunt, gliding in and out of her, his hands to either side of her shoulders, he saw her bound hands writhing under a cushion. Thinking nothing of it he once more lost himself in her charms, now able to fully enjoy the sight of her beneath him, shifting to and fro like the sea herself. He was fascinated by the fluid shifting of her breasts, fore and aft, as he thrust himself into her at a good steady pace. She was beautiful and he could see the tension building in her. He felt a malicious glee and slowed down his pace. "Fuck me faster you filthy bugger!" "Ye are a foul-mouthed little tart, aren't ye? I'm thinkin' I'll be fuckin' ye at whatever speed I feel is best." Her hands, somehow unbound, flashed out from under the cushion, one going around his neck, the other holding something to the side of it. "Listen you murderous scum. If you're going to defile me, you'll damn well do it right. That's what this knife at your throat and I have to say on the matter. Now fuck me faster or I'll cut you, roll you over and be humping your dead body before you can get out a scream," she said, holding the knife, which looked suspiciously like a dildo, to his throat. "Well, seems you've changed your tune, don't it now?" he said as he picked up the pace. "Just awhile ago ye were all 'please don't violate me' and now you've become a greedy slut about it, ain't ye?" She brought his face down to hers, never letting up pressure on the knife. "Yes, yes I have. You've already ruined me, though I might admit to having wanted you to. So now, being ruined, I don't intend to do things by half-measures. I'm planning my climb up this sewer's social ladder. I started as a prisoner, to be sold as a slave. Then I moved up to being a pirate's plaything, or maybe a pirate's whore. I figure the next step up is a pirate's lady and then maybe a member of the crew." She kissed him and the Captain felt himself pulled right past the point of no return by the passion of her kiss and the magic of her mouth. He came and as he did he felt the rhythms in her cunt which had been so steady become spastic as she joined him. She broke the kiss and her head lolled back as she rode out her climax and he trembled through the after-shocks of his own. Moments later she looked up at him, her eyes still slightly glassy. "You know, for a dirty, uneducated piece of wharf trash, you're not an unpleasant lover." She rolled him on his back and retrieved the scarf she'd been bound with. "Now I'm going to tie you up," she said, a smile of evil glee on her beautiful face. "Ye can't hold a knife and tie a knot, ye daft bitch! Ye might as well not even try." "I don't have to," she said and then moved down his body, keeping the knife ever ready to plunge into him. When she reached his groin she said "Now in a minute, you'll give me your hands and no trouble. Trust me." Keeping the knife on him, she took his balls in her mouth, biting down on them somewhat roughly to accent her point. Then she put the knife down, out of his reach, and motioned for him to put his hands down to his belly. He did so and she trussed him up tightly. Shortly thereafter, his feet were bound. "Now then, time for a little more. Put your hands up near your neck, Captain." He did so and his former captive propped his head up slightly and then swung her leg over his head, facing his feet. She lowered her messy cunt onto his hands and leaned back, putting her asshole right at his mouth. "Put your tongue to work, dog, or I'll bury this steel in your gullet and laugh while you die." So with his hand together as if at prayer, thumbs inside her with her button rubbing along the edge of the others and his tongue worming it's way up her ass, soon she was grinding fore and aft once more, using the Captain as her plaything, their mixed juices dripping out of her over his neck. For his part the Captain was rather intrigued by this turn of events. The wench had fire, true enough, and once she was past all the silly protestin' of 'proper society' she had a taste for things just the way he and the crew liked 'em on the 'Free Booty". "Umm, yes Captain, I like your tongue much better where it is than when it's flapping about in your mouth. And I can tell I'd like it in my cunny just as much." He was happy with it where it was as well. The fiery wench was holdin' her weight off him, lettin' him breath, and the smells of her, and to be truthful him as well, were surroundin' him like a fog. But most of his attention was focused on the shapely ass bouncin' over his face, pressed down against his mouth. She was a sweet cunt, he could tell from the smell, and a fuck that'd put any port whore to shame. Her soft and shapely ass was a thing of beauty, nay, majesty, when seen at this distance, when tasted. She was clean and sweet and he'd be damned to a deeper hell than Davy Jones' locker if he'd tell her she'd been headed towards recruitment as crew before he took her the first time. He buried his tongue deeper inside her, worming his way in as far as he could as he felt her starting to shudder. "Um, Captain... that's... real... good... umm... deeper..." The cheeks of her ass pressed down on either side of his face as her hips relaxed slightly, her attention wavering with her approaching climax. He curled his index and middle fingers under and shifted them next to his thumb, curling down his ring fingers and leaving her only the little fingers to rub against. On her next upstroke he uncurled the index and middle fingers, slipping them up inside her. "OH... you... bastard..." she said, and then she was coming, and coming hard, collapsing down on top of him. Her body falling forward took the pressure off his throat and neck and he was staring up when his First and Second Mates came into view, smiling, holding pistols in each hand, which looked suspiciously like toy flintlocks. "So Captain, ye managed to get your ass captured again," Mounds observed. "How is it that ye can captain a ship across the length and breadth of the Spanish Main, lootin' and pillagin' and not get caught, yet put some vixen in with ye and you're tied up on the floor with your tongue up her butt in a matter of an hour?" "Skill, Mounds, sheer skill. It takes much hard work and effort to get yourself in positions like that. Few men have the patience and dedication for it." The wench raised her head, holding the knife threateningly, but when she saw the pistols pointed in her direction, she dropped it. "Now, get me untied and retie her. Where's the other one?" "We left her bound and sleepin' on the bed, sir," Twat responded. "She's a sweet little piece and will give us no problem at all, but this one seems to be a bit of a firebrand, don't she?" "Aye, that she is," the Captain said, reaching for a tankard of rather citrus-y smelling ale. "And when we're through with her, she'll either be burning for us, or burnt out." He and his depraved crew chuckled evilly. Oil of Roses Ch. 20 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * Disarmed and bound the prisoner was led into the Captain's Cabin. "Y'know, me lovelies, I been thinkin' here we got this bunk, all rigged out for restrain' and makin' fast prisoners and we ain't never used it." Mounds forced the captive to her knees and then, grasping her by her hair, drove her face into Twat's twat. "There ye go, sweetie, some pie for ye." She returned her attention to the Captain. "Well now, Sir, you'd be havin' a point there. How d'ye want to have her tied?" "Somethin' allowin' us to get to her easy, I'm thinkin'… only question be left is face up or face down?" In the end the crew took a vote and the brown wench was hung suspended from padded straps, blindfolded, face down a foot above the bed. Her beautiful nipples were sucked into the mouths of the Captain and Second Mate Mounds who slid themselves under her, side by side. First Mate Twat had been eying the captive's ass since they'd brought her on board and after seeing the pleasure the Captain had taken in tonguing her there, she thought it was time she gave it a try. "Do you thieving scoundrels intend to leave me… oh… unfulfilled?" the wench cried as the crew took their pleasure of her. "What kind of foul sea scum teases… ummm… a poor woman so and leaves her nest empty?" The Second Mate paused from her suckling on a breast. "The kind that likes hearin' ye beg, bitch. Now, if you're not gonna be doin' that, quit your whinin', we've torturin' to do." The prisoner moaned and twitched in her straps, wondering if there was any way these vile brigands could make her captivity more frustrating? The First Mate had a serpent for a tongue, the Captain and the Second Mate were attached to her bosom like lampreys and she would have killed the rest of the crew and used their bodies to weight the Captain down if it was the only way she could get the hard tool she felt poking into her thigh in where it would do her the most good. But she'd tested her restraints and these sea-going perverts had secured her too well. If she didn't find release soon she'd be begging them. In her frustration she lashed out once more. "In the name of God Almighty… OH… do not use me so foully! Umm hmmm… do not, in the name of Mercy… oh, oh, ohhh… leave me so in need of relief!" "That's it!" roared the Captain, releasing his hold on her tit. "Gag the bitch before we have to take a strap to her!" Twat pulled her tongue out of the wench's ass. "Right away, Cap'n Sir!" Before the poor woman knew it, she was firmly gagged. And then they made it worse. Her head was pulled back and strapped into the new position. Her blindfold was removed. Shifting in the bunk the Captain reclined on his back and Mounds climbed on his stiff spar, facing the helpless captive, and began to slowly and with great pleasure ride him, their bodies sliding about on one another just a foot in front of her gagged mouth. The First Mate had resumed the tongue assault on her ass and had added new fiendishness to her evil. She had slipped a finger inside the prisoner's achingly empty, wet cunny, curling it in and towards her front, finding inside some spot that was setting her on fire as she'd rarely imagined possible. The foul bitch was taking her close to the edge of release, so close her body was trembling with the nearness of it and then backing away. Oh, if she ever became a member of the crew, what evil and treachery she'd have to put paid to! A time of reckoning for these scoundrels, yes, that was what was called for. She'd extract an elixir of yohimbe root, put it in their food and lock them in a convent for the night at gunpoint. She'd pay small children at every port to follow them around, begging them, as their 'mother's and 'father', to come home. She'd sell them out to the French! Or she'd come up with some plan to torture them, so diabolical and devious that Old Scratch himself would come up from the deepest Hell to ask her how she concocted it. Meanwhile the Captain was lost in his own world, one that barely even noticed the captive that was bound and gagged before him. The sight of Mounds, arched backwards towards him, filled the Captain with lust. She was a beautiful, wicked and depraved woman, amply suited both in body and spirit to be a member of his crew. The squeezings of her cunt worked on his cock like the talented fingers of the three Haitian masseuses that had given him the best handjob of his life some years before in Port-au-Prince. For her part, Mounds was very aware of the bound woman scant inches in front of her. The Second Mate's level of excitement was not only due to the feel of her Captain beneath her and his hands caressing her all over her body, as there was little of her he couldn't reach in their present position, but the knowledge that she was on intimate display for the woman hanging before her. Mounds' fingers moved down to expose her nubbin, rubbing the area around it as she reveled in the slight widening of the prisoner's eyes as she did so. Dipping her fingers lower to gather moisture from around the Captain's shaft, sliding in and out of her, she spread it around the tiny bump and tenderly rubbed it, feeling her climax approaching like a barque under full sail. The prisoner wanted to look away from the sight of the Captain and his Second Mate fucking right before her but she couldn't. Even when she closed her eyes the sounds of them, the smell of them, so close, drove her eyes open again. She strained against her straps and chains to no avail. And still the evil bitch behind her ran that serpent tongue into her innards and teased her on the edge of release! She did what little she could, pressing back as much as the straps would allow onto the First Mate's probing finger, but it brought her no relief. Tears flowed down her face unnoticed as she quivered, suspended at the edge for so long that she thought she must go mad but still refusing to break and beg. And then her mouth betrayed her. "Please... I beg you…" she muttered behind the gag, it coming out as an unintelligible mumble. "What's that, wench? Do you want mercy?" Twat asked from behind her. The prisoner's nodding of the head, though slight, was unmistakable. She cursed her weakness as the First Mate massaged her interior and gave her what she so desperately wanted. She cried out as the wave of her climax broke over her and drug her under, her eyes rolling back in her head and her cries blending into one long wail as she lost her grip on who and where she was. The Second Mate and the Captain were only moments behind her as they both shuddered to their climaxes within seconds of each other, Mounds falling forward to wrap her arms in the prisoner's straps to hold herself up as she ground her crotch on the Captain's cock. * * * * * Jessica watched her lover and their roommates play from between slit eyelids, feigning sleep. She had enjoyed her time with Carol and Margo and liked playing pirate with them, but if it wasn't for Kelly's connection with these people, she wouldn't choose to be here. Jessica would much prefer to be in bed with Kelly upstairs alone. She'd had a lot of time to think that week while making delivery runs; a lot of time examine her feelings and try to come to terms with the reality of her and Kelly's relationship. She and Kelly had discussed the myriad relationships in the household and Kelly had been very upfront with her. A part of Kelly belonged to Carol and Kelly wanted it that way. Her aggressive and dominant side enjoyed having one relationship it could relax in. Upon hearing the name "Princess" suddenly Kelly could sink into a place of no responsibility, no need to be in control, no worries other than pleasing her Mistress. Jessica could understand that. When she gave herself over to Kelly she felt the same way. All she had to do was what she was told. She wasn't going to even try and take that kind of freedom away from Kelly. Kelly and Harry were very close, very good friends. Jessica didn't quite understand that kind of friendship, she'd never had such with a man, but she couldn't deny it existed. Kelly had made it clear without belaboring the point that her relationship with Harry was very precious to her. Jessica was afraid of what would happen should she even intimate that she was uncomfortable with it. And she was. Very. It wasn't that she didn't like Harry, she did. Harry was a sweet and wonderful man… but the depth of Kelly's feelings for him made Jessica very nervous. She couldn't help but wonder who was more important to Kelly? Was it her or Harry, Margo and Carol? She couldn't help feeling that if she hadn't come along, Kelly would be happily sharing a bed with the three of them all the time, making herself subservient to Margo and Carol just to share in the sense of family to an even greater degree. And then there was Margo. Kelly's relationship with Margo was probably the weakest link and it was still quite strong. From Jessica's read on it, on some level Margo was a mother-figure in some bizarre incestuous way for Kelly. Well-off, well-educated, full of poise, beautiful, sensual and soon to be married to Kelly's best friend… a position that Jessica felt, in some ways, Kelly envied her for. Jessica felt that Margo was pretty much everything Kelly wanted to be when she 'grew up'. From what Kelly had told her, although her mother and father loved her and she loved them, Kelly had grown up missing a "us against them" feeling of unity with her parents. They were a family but they weren't a clan. They weren't a tribe. That's what Kelly was looking for, in a lot of ways. She had found it with these people. They were, in an odd way, her blood brothers and sisters. There were few clearly defined roles in the tribe, although Eddy was clearly a Warrior, Margo a sometimes Matriarch, Harry an occasional Patriarch, Carol the off-again-on-again Wise Woman… but the tribal feel was there for Kelly. It was real to her. Jessica knew that it had to become real for her as well or she and Kelly weren't going to make it. She loved Kelly more than she'd ever loved anyone else in her life. She hoped she could find a way to let herself become one of them. * * * * * "I'm not at all sure that sweet little piece over there be truly asleep, Cap'n," Mounds said as they gently lowered their captive to the bed, still insensate. "Whether she be or not, leave her. We have things to deal with here. Did ye ask her if she wanted to be brought aboard as crew?" "Aye Cap'n, we did and she declined," Twat replied. "I wouldn't be takin' it personal, she just wants nothin' to do with the life of a scallywag." "Well then, let's see what this wench says to the proposition." He took the captive in his arms, shaking her gently until her eyes flickered open. Before he could say anything, she spoke. "You have a choice, you villainous scrap of beach trash. Either make me a member of this crew or prepare to have me hunting this ship until I send her and your whole crew of perverse degenerates to the bottom of the briny deep." "Welcome aboard then, Crewman Bum." "Why 'Bum'?" "Because ye have such a delightful one, me dark beauty… now, as a 'welcome aboard' gift, me and the mates are givin' ye this wench over here to keep for your own. Take her and go find the two of ye accommodations in the crew quarters. Me and the mates got ship's business to take care of. And good night to ye both." With hugs and kisses all around, the new crew member took her leave, leading her prize by her hair. After quick trips to the guest bathroom, the three shipmates fell asleep cuddled together on the massive bunk. * * * * * Harry stumbled into the kitchen, the bright light pouring in through the window scarring his brain as it ripped through his optic nerves like a knife. He wasn't hung over, it was just way too early in the morning for so much illumination. Shielding his face, he was able to retreat into the corner where the coffee machine sat, the cool shadows of the corner giving him some relief. "Have you ever thought that you and Karen might in some ways be psychically linked?" asked Patricia from her seat at the table. Harry started and then turned around, peering back into the light. "Jesus-Christ-whuppin'-ass-in-the-temple, woman, you startled me!" "I don't see how you missed me, Harry, been sitting right here." "I was blind, okay, blind. Geez… I've got to remember to shut the blinds in here before I go to bed at night." "Tell you what, Harry. You let the lady of the house know that you want it done and I bet you dollars to donuts you'll rarely come in to a bright kitchen again." "I imagine you're right. If I offered you the blood of a virgin, or whatever else you want, could I get you to close them." "Sure Harry… I want coffee." She got up and soon the kitchen was at a bearable level of brightness. "That I will gladly provide… give me a few minutes. Now, what do you mean, psychically linked?" "Well, aside from your ability to work together so well, you both seem to have this vampiric allergy to sunshine first thing in the morning." "Oh Patricia, you are a goddamn comedienne, that's what you are." A short time later he was sitting at the table with her as they both slurped fresh cups of coffee, she in her panties and he in his robe. "Harry, I noticed the house catty-cornered across the street from you is for sale. Know anything about it?" "Yeah, it's a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, nice sized lot. House is in pretty good shape. The woman who lived there, Mrs. Sattler, passed away and her children put it on the market. I've been in it a few times over the years, pretty common interior layout for this neighborhood. Why?" "Because I'm real tired of living in yuppie-fuckin'-condo land. I think Liz is as well. We're a little weary of a box we can kinda sorta call our own. She and I were discussing it in bed last night. We like this neighborhood; we're real fond of one of our potential neighbor families already. We were just thinking it might be time to really settle in." "Well, speaking for myself, and I feel safe in saying for the rest of the household as well, we'd love to have y'all that close. I haven't been in much of a head space to go out and get to know my neighbors since I moved back in or I've been too busy to… I think I need to remedy that real soon. It's obvious we're settling in and I've been remiss in my neighborly responsibilities." Their conversation was disturbed as Kelly stumbled in clad in nothing but skin. "Harry, y'all are some evil bastards. Between what y'all did to me last night and what Jess did once we were back in our room, I may not be able to consider sex again for at least, oh, I don't know, another hour or two. Bastards!" "My heart bleeds for you, sweetie. A night of good loving… damn, your life just sucks, doesn't it?" Patricia said with a smile. "Yeah, 'bout as much as yours does… how are you this morning?" "Radiantly wonderful and tanking up on coffee." Kelly leaned in and kissed Patricia on the cheek before kissing Harry fully and deeply. "You are a rare and wonderful woman, Kelly. Patricia, she used mouthwash before she came down… you are an angel, Kelly, really you are." "Yeah, well I didn't know if your coffee was gonna be strong enough to kill my morning breath… plus Jess is up and should be down in a bit." "Ah, so it wasn't just for us, it was for Jess… no matter, still muchly appreciated. I'll get a second pot going." Tamara wandered in next wearing Eddy's shirt as a dress. After hugs and pecks on the cheek all around, she took Harry out on the back porch and told him of her encounter with Carol in the kitchen the evening before. Harry slumped against the porch railing, a look of anguish in his eyes. "Harry, no, it's okay, I talked with her, sat with her, reassured her. She'll be okay now." "Tammy… I never, ever wanted to in anyway do even the slightest, smallest thing that reminded her of him. I think it would be like Carol finding out something she did hit an Angie button." He straightened up and calmed himself. "Thank you so much for what you did. I need to make sure she understands that from now on, if Margo or I ever do anything that hits one of those buttons, she needs to let us know immediately." When they got back inside Jessica was on her way in wearing a t-shirt and panties. After hugs she moved a chair right next to Kelly and sat down with her cup of coffee. Harry started a third pot and went to their bedroom. Margo was starting to stir so he went across the house to the bathroom with her and as she performed her morning toilet, he relayed what Tamara had told him. Together they went back to the bedroom and curled up on either side of Carol, cuddling up close to her and gently stroking her arms, gently bringing her towards wakefulness. As her eyes flickered open she smiled and stretched lazily. "Good morning my loves… what's up?" "Baby Girl," Harry said, "Tamara told me about what you went through in the kitchen last night. Sweetie, I am so sorry. I know I had no way of knowing how that would affect you but I'm still so sorry. I never wanted you to be reminded of Rick again, ever." "Harry, Margo, it's alright, really… Tamara and I worked through it and I'm fine." "Yes dear, you are, but anytime something hits a bad button like that you need to let Harry or I know, immediately. You may consider that an order from both of us. There is never a reason for you to suffer a moment's distress from something like that. Now, do you need to go to that bathroom?" "Yes ma'am, I could stand to." "Fine, go to the bathroom and then come straight back here." "Yes ma'am." While Carol was in the bathroom Harry went and checked the coffee level. Seeing Eddy sitting at the table, resplendent in his black silk boxers he knew he'd be starting another pot if not two. "Mornin' Eddy, how ya doin'?" "Trying to come up with sufficient reasons not to kill and eat Kelly. So far the best I've come up with is that it would make Jessica sad. She would have a sad expression on her face. That would make Tamara sad and I can't have that." "You backwards-ass redneck throwback to a time when mullets ruled the earth, any day you think you can take me out, bring it on and I will fuck you into submission. Leave you a broken man, sucking your thumb and crying for Tamara." Oil of Roses Ch. 20 "Tamara, you may end up sad today… Jessica, prepare to look forlorn… I'm thinking the woman needs to die." "Eddy, Margo and Carol will not be happy if you kill and eat Kelly. I will not be happy," Harry said. At the counter, Patricia was slicing up fruit. "Patricia, do you have anything Tamara can shove in this maniac's mouth or is she going to have to risk a tit?" "Fruit coming up, shortly to be followed by breakfast breads of various kinds. Kelly, how fast can you run?" "Damn fast, why?" "Go wake up Karen and then evacuate the area immediately before you get caught in the blast." "How do you recommend I wake her up?" "Well, I usually tickle her tits until she starts to come around, then I thrust my leg between hers and hug her real hard creating a need to go pee… I don't recommend that method for you. Try shaking her by the shoulder and calling her name real loud until she turns over. Then run." Kelly bounded off towards the stairs. "This is going to be so much fun!" "Harry, see, the girl's got a gawddamn death wish, you should let me grant it." Harry had two pots brewing. "Eddy, mega bad juju if you do." From upstairs came Karen's unmistakable bellow. "THAT HAIRY NEANDERTHAL SAID WHAT?" Then the sound of Kelly, bolting down the stairs, giggling like a lunatic, filled the kitchen. "Harry, I'm going to go slaughter one of your housemates now," Eddy said, getting out of his chair and heading towards the living room. Harry shook his head and went back to the bedroom, deciding that cleanup of the body or bodies could wait until after breakfast. He and Carol met in the living room and walked in to Margo arm in arm. They climbed into bed and Harry and Margo cuddled up to Carol in-between them. "Baby Girl, I love you and I'm so sorry that you were freaked last night. Please tell me if that happens again, not only because you've been told to but so that I can have a chance to make it right immediately," Harry said, stroking her belly gently. "As long as we all can talk to each other, everything will be fine, honey," Margo added, hugging Carol tightly. "And there's never any reason for any of us to suffer like that alone no matter what the cause. We're family… we don't let that happen, not to people we love." "EDDY, PUT ME DOWN OR I'M GONNA HAVE JESS GNAW YOUR NUTS OFF WHILE I BEAT YOU TO DEATH WITH YOUR OWN SEVERED DICK!" came the cry of Kelly from the living room. "I should've known better, I did know better… it was just at the time it all hit me so hard, I felt like I had no control over it. I was telling myself it was bullshit and that you wouldn't do that to me but all the talking I was doing wasn't changing how I was feeling," Carol said, kissing Margo's wrist. "Could you have blown a whistle?" Margo asked out of nowhere. "Blown a whistle? Yeah, yeah I suppose I could have. Why?" "The whistle Eddy has me wearing got me thinking about it. I've got an old brass British Police whistle I found in a shop in London last time I was there. I had it put on a chain at a shop." She got up and went into her closet. "EDDY, YOU CAN'T USE KELLY AS A SHIELD FOREVER, SOONER OR LATER YOUR ARMS ARE GONNA GET TIRED!" hollered Karen. Margo rummaged about for a bit and returned. "Here you go, love." The whistle was on a beautiful gold chain and Margo put it around Carol's neck, fastening it. "There now, if you ever panic like that again, you put the whistle in your mouth and blow. We'll come running." "Listen, this is silly. I shouldn't have to wear a whistle in case I freak out. It won't happen again. I'm embarrassed as hell it happened once." "No," Harry said, holding her tightly and stroking her hair, "there's nothing at all for you to be embarrassed about. In your place I would've freaked out as well." "Me too, honey," Margo added, "so don't even think twice about it. The next time you're in distress, you blow on that and we'll come running. With everything that all of us have been through, the occasional panic is to be expected." "KAREN, LEAVE EDDY ALONE, GET IN HERE AND START BREAKFAST!" yelled Patricia. "Have I told you guys lately that I love you?" Carol said, cuddled safe and sound between the two of them. "I love you too and maybe you have but I'd be stupid to get tired of hearing it, wouldn't you babe?" Harry said. "Anytime you want to say it, I'm happy to hear it because I love you too. And as much as I want a cup of coffee, I think I want to lay here and cuddle with the two of you until breakfast is ready," Margo said. "BUT PATRICIA, EDDY STARTED IT!" "HE DID NOT, KELLY WAS PULLING YOUR LEG BECAUSE I TOLD HER TO GET YOU OUT OF BED." "KEEEELLY…" "That is, if breakfast ever is ready," Harry said with a smile. * * * * * Some time later there was a gentle knocking at the door and Tamara stuck her head in. "I'm to ask Carol what she wants in her omelet. We have Mozarella, Monterey Jack, Swiss, Cheddar and American cheese available as well as sausage both hot and mild, ham, onions, fried potatoes, bacon, tomatoes and garlic." "Uh, Monterey Jack, hot sausage, ham, onions, garlic and fried potatoes… thank you." "You're welcome honey, might want to get a move on, it won't take Karen the wonder chef long." The three of them wandered in and Harry began another pot of coffee. Karen was at the stove in briefs, sports bra and apron. The room swam in wonderful smells. "Okay sleepy heads, we got bacon and sausage in the pan here keeping warm, taters in the other pan, breads, juices and fruits on the counter over there. Margo, Carol's omelet's about to be done, decide what you want." "When the fuck do I get an omelet?" Harry asked, smiling. "When everybody else besides me has one… sucks being the host, don't it?" Karen replied with a grin. In short order everyone had been fed and was sitting around feeling full and happy. * * * * * "So after those assholes had pulled their sophomoric stunt with the cadavers, my friends and I decided that to win the bet, and to do so with style, we had to get truly creative," Margo said, having a sip of juice. "I still can't believe that people who wanted to be doctors would dress corpses up and pose them having sex in the Baylor Admin lobby… that's just sick," Jessica said. "Oh honey, some of the sickest, most disgusting perverts you'd ever want to meet are medical students," Margo said with a smile. "When your business is life and death, I suspect you almost have to develop a dark and macabre sense of humor. "So one of the women in my study group, ravishing Indian girl named Devapaati, starts letting it be known that not only will we cover any side bets made, but that she would give blowjobs to bettors if we lost. As our opponents were the odds-on favorites at the time, this did stimulate some extra action. Hell, I sold my car and borrowed as much money from my family as I could to put down, above what I'd already bet on us. "The informal judges' panel, composed of some of the more relaxed professors, was known to prefer elegance to 'brute force' pranks. So we stole almost every display skeleton in the school, got the full 'cock and balls' dildos we needed, the sheets of plywood, the other supplies and retired to a rented storage unit. Soon as we'd get one diorama constructed, Ed would take it in his truck to Paul, who had worked in landscaping all through his college years. Paul would load it up in the 'borrowed' groundskeeper's cart, cover it with shade cloth hanging on the posts on the corners and off he'd go, carefully unloading it as a pre-chosen scenic spot, make sure the base was covered by the cloth and stick up the sign reading "Another New Planting Courtesy of Baylor Medical School Groundskeeping Department". He'd squared it with them, reassuring them it was a prank and that they'd be getting all their equipment back undamaged. "Still, it took us a lot longer than we'd expected and nobody got much sleep that weekend. But by 4 AM Monday morning, all sixty-four were in place and we then ran around the campus madly removing the shade cloths. "When students and faculty moved about the grounds that morning they were greeted with the sixty-four positions of the Kama Sutra, lovingly illustrated by skeletons, a white painted anatomically correct dildo designating the male figures, each diorama with a small painted plaque describing the position." Laughter filled the kitchen. "We'd gotten pictures of each of them… come to think of it, I still have my copies somewhere in my things… because we thought, perhaps, our opponents might not be good sports. "We were surprised. Carl Kline, who's now in line to get the Chief of Neurology position at St. Joseph's in Houston, and was head of the other study group, came up to us as we sat in the Student Union Building sucking down coffee and admitted defeat. We all made a nice sum off of it. I bought a new car, paid back the family… never told them what I'd really used the money for." "Honey," Harry said, "how good are the photos? If they're of sufficient quality, we could have them made into prints, get them framed, put up around the house." * * * * * Carol and Tamara gave Karen and Patricia massages in appreciation for the superb breakfast while the rest of the crew cleaned up the remains of the meal. Harry ducked out a little early and when the clean up was finished called everyone into the living room. "Carol, my darling, please sit down here in the middle of the floor," he said. Carol, grinning uncertainly, sat down on a cushion he'd indicated. Harry, Margo and Kelly sat down in a circle around her, close to her and holding hands. In a circle around them sat Eddy, Tamara, Karen, Patricia and Jessica, who all held hands as well. "Baby Girl," Margo said, "you've been avoiding something you need to do. You need to do it for your sake. We're all here. We're all your friends and family. We all love you. We're all here for you." Harry put the envelope from Tony in Carol's lap. "Don't you think it's time you found out what he wanted you to know?" Harry asked. "You don't have to share it with us, not now, not ever. But we're here to support you and love you. If you'd really rather not look at it now, that's fine too. This isn't meant to pressure you into something you're really not ready for. But it felt to me like you didn't want to face it alone and you didn't know how to ask us to help. If that's the case, here we are. Go ahead and read it, surrounded by the love of your friends and family." The tears streaming down Carol's face, past her smile, gave silent testimony to her feelings. Slowly she opened the envelope and in a breaking voice began to read it aloud. "My Dearest Baby Girl, I wish I could leave you something more substantial than the remnants of this foolish hobby of mine." "That was for the benefit of his family," she said. "That's what they thought of his record collecting." "However, we both know my loving family deserves everything of value in my estate as they have had to put up with so much at my hands over the years. I only wish that my recent losses at the race track had not been so big. I feel terrible about that I've cost them so much money due to an old man's foolishness." "Harry, this is bullshit. Tony went to the track, sure. He'd even place bets on the bigger races across the country but it was always relative small change. He never bet enough to be a big bettor by any stretch of the imagination." "But as Vic can attest, in an attempt to increase my estate's value as a final gesture to them, I almost ruined myself. I suspect that by the time my final debts are settled, they'll be left with enough for a comfortable life, although in a somewhat leaner lifestyle than they might have wished." "Y'all, this is totally screwy. Tony was sad about his relationship with his family but as much as he was able in his final months, he was spending money right and left. He was playing the bon vivant to the last possible moment, never having water if champagne was available, never settling for chicken if there was quail to be had." "My stupid scribblings on music and such I leave to you as well. They're filed, whenever possible, in the albums of the appropriate musicians. The uncategorizable entries are in their own envelopes. Hopefully you'll read a page or two of them, from time to time, and think of me. Although I'm sure you'd find those horrid CDs easier to deal with, I ask that you play every album at least once. I still have hopes that you'll someday be able to discover what I so treasured about them." "This is crazy talk. He and I loved listening to his records. Of all the times we spent together, the best by far were listening to his music and often times dancing together." "Maybe he had gotten a little senile when he wrote this?" Kelly said. "Not meaning any disrespect and I don't know much more than the basics of the story, but could that maybe explain it?" "No," Carol answered, puzzled, "he was sharp as a tack and all there up to… up to the last time I saw him." "If anything I've ever done leaves you needing help or advice, go to Niccolo. My godson is a good boy and knows my mind on many things." "If my greatest wish, to be granted a second lifetime to find you again, can't be granted then I pray my second wish comes true- that you find someone who loves you as you deserve to be loved and can give you what you need to be happy. "Know that if I can crash the Gates, I'll be watching over you from Above, I love you more than I can say, "Tony" The room was quiet but for Carol's soft sobs. Then she got up and carefully stepped between those seated around her. "Come on," she said, "I think I need to go take a look at those records." Leading them to Harry's old bedroom upstairs where Karen and Patricia had spent the night amidst the boxes and crates. She opened the lid of one of the boxes and carefully pulled out an album. "Alright, 'Me And The Blues', Joe Williams… we listened to this one often." She gently pulled the polylined sleeve out, reverently placing the sleeve and the record inside to one side on the desk top. With delicate movements she pried open the cardboard sleeve open and peered inside. "Well, no notes on Joe, although I know he saw him live, so they must be in another album… what's this? Anybody got a pair of forceps?" "I've got a pair I use as a roach clip out in the truck, hold on," Eddy said as he turned to run downstairs. "Think the neighborhood's ready for Eddy in his boxers?" Kelly asked. "Ready or not, they're about to get him," Harry replied. In the meantime Carol took out the next album. "Joe Williams, 'A Night At Count Basie's'… okay, here's the album itself… here are at least some of the notes… the same thing, it looks like… something fastened to the inside of the sleeve. "November 3rd, 1957 "Last night I had to handle something for Carlo. Seemed Joey G. was talking crazy again and since Carlo took over after Albert's unfortunate demise, Joey and Larry have borne watching. Out of town talent seemed to Carlo a good way to do it," Carol read. "But Joey stayed in, spending the evening at Carmen's, his mistress, so I was able to hand him off to Anthony and head to Harlem. Of course I didn't tell anyone where I was going as I catch enough flack about how much time I spend with 'the coloreds' as it is. "Harlem, Seventh Avenue and 132nd at night is an eye-opener. The cream of jazz and blues musicians are playing at Count Basie's Bar and yet most whites stay away. Those that do come walk like they expect to be attacked any moment, every step they take and every move they make announcing that they're victims, waiting to be taken. The streets are lit with the neon of the clubs and bars, the night is alive with music from a dozen sources and yet these poor fools walk in their own eternal shadows. "There are the rare few, like myself, though, who come realizing that they are safe, protected by the holy purpose of their visit. This is the Temple where the Muse resides for now and we who come to worship her and those she has touched are sacred pilgrims, journeying to a foreign land." The tears in her voice stopped the reading and she put down the pages of notes. Harry reached to her and pulled her into his arms. "Harry, I miss him so much... I can hear him in every word and I miss him." "If you can hear him, Baby Girl, then he's here with you," Harry said. "I'm sure if anyone could crash the Gates he did, so he's here with you." Carol relaxed a bit and then, wiping her face on his robe, returned to her task. "Here's the next one, Joe Williams and Harry 'Sweets' Edison, 'Together'… no notes… again, something fastened inside." Eddy's thundering footsteps came up the stairs. "You know, a compassionate group of friends might've thought to remind me that I was still dressed in only my gawddamn boxers," he said, handing Carol the forceps as he pounded into the room, skidding to a stop. "Jesus Christ, Eddy, you ever clean these?" Carol said, looking about for something to wipe off the tips of the forceps. "Yeah, about once a month… why?" "They're disgusting," she said, cleaning them on Harry's proffered robe tail. "Well excuse the fuck out of me, your highness, you wanna wait till I go buy you a fresh clean pair?" Eddy asked, smiling. "No, silly man, I'm sorry… I'm just nervous." She took the forceps and, holding the cardboard sleeve open as far as she felt she safely could, reached in and grasped the object, pulling slowly. Suddenly it came free and the forceps came out with a fifty dollar bill in them, a piece of tape on each end of the bill. Her mouth hanging open, Carol moved to the next sleeve, repeating the procedure. Another fifty dollar bill appeared. The third sleeve yielded the same. Carol froze for a moment then sat down on the floor with a thump. "What's wrong baby? What's wrong with her, Harry?" Kelly asked. Harry stood, in shock himself. "She's done the math, Kelly. Over five thousand albums, 'play each one at least once' he said… over five thousand times fifty dollars, Kelly… that's over a quarter of a million dollars." It was silent in the room for quite some time. Oil of Roses Ch. 21 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * After a time, Carol got up off the floor and very calmly removed another seventeen fifty-dollar bills, as well as five more sheaves of notes from albums. Then she returned the forceps to Eddy and knelt before Harry, eyes downcast. "May I take all of you to supper this evening?" she asked. "If you want to sweetie, of course you can. Any preference as to where?" Harry replied. "I was hoping the Bangkok Inn might be acceptable to everyone." Everyone chimed in with agreement so Carol asked, "May I reserve the Vimanmek Palace room?" "Certainly, my pet," Margo answered, "I've been curious to see what it looked like ever since I heard the story of your first trip to the Bangkok Inn." As Carol padded off to make arrangements, Harry and Eddy went into consultation. Within minutes Harry was measuring the door and windows of the room while Eddy was getting dressed. Shortly thereafter Eddy was heading out the door, a set of measurements from Harry in his pocket. A few hours later the room sported a new door frame, security door, and interior bars on the windows. Both keys to the new door were handed to Carol. "Baby Girl, I'd recommend putting one of these on the chain with the whistle, the other somewhere only you know about," Margo said. "This is silly," Carol responded. "The two of you should have the other key." "No," Harry said, smiling. "You're the lady of the house and the treasure in that room is yours." "Yes sir... but I'll tell the two of you where the key is, just in case." "If you wish," Margo said, "but that's your decision." While the door and bars were being installed, Karen and Patricia had gone home to grab clothes for the evening and Kelly had driven Tamara to Eddy and Tamara's apartment to do the same. Because of their labors, Harry and Eddy were the last ones to hit the showers and prepare for the evening. "Harry, sir, before you get in the shower I'd like to ask; could we possibly go by the Chateau de Chantilly after supper? I'd like to sit and listen to Bizoumet play for awhile. Maybe you and Margo, some of the others, could get in some dancing... in my head it's sort of a wake for Tony." "Sweetie, no problem at all. All that I know of that's on anybody's schedule tomorrow is that Eddy and I are planning to set up your stereo equipment just the way you want it, and I have to go pick up Nikki at the airport in the evening. Why don't you go check with the others? Is there anyone else you might like to invite?" "Yes sir, there is, I'll make some calls." She paused then turned and leapt up, throwing her arms around his neck. She snuggled her face into his neck and kissed him. "Thank you sir." The rest of the crowd was more than amenable to the idea so Carol hopped on the phone while Eddy called Bizoumet to let them know they were coming and they were bringing a crowd. Margo overheard the end of Carol's side of one conversation. "Yes, I'm serious. He meant as much to you as to anybody on Earth." "No, I don't want that to happen, it could be... troublesome. Anyway you can avoid it?" "Alright, as long as you have a plan... we should be there by ten." Margo fully expected a night of surprises. * * * * * Even though they'd been the last to get showered, in the time-honored tradition Harry and Eddy were the first to be ready. Harry was in a pair of dark blue chinos, with matching blazer and a cream shirt. Eddy was in a pair of black pinstripe slacks and a black dress shirt, his hair pulled tightly back into a ponytail. And as tradition dictated, they stood in the living room and waited patiently, or at least pretended to. * * * * * In the downstairs guest bedroom, Tamara put the finishing touches on her makeup, fastened the collar and leash she was slowly teaching Eddy to use upon her neck, and looked in the mirror. The satin kimono dress was such a deep shade of purple it almost seemed black. She smiled and bowed to herself in the mirror, her vaguely Kabuki style make-up helping to make the illusion complete. She put on a pair of suede strap sandals in the same color as the dress and twirled in place, imagining she was dancing with her love. * * * * * In the upstairs guest room, Karen waited most impatiently as Patricia made sure Karen's outfit was just so. "I'm still not sure, Liz," Patricia said, chewing on a finger, "are you sure you want to go with the white cotton blouse? The copper silk blouse looks much better." "Will agreeing with you get us going any faster?" "Oh yes." "Then the copper blouse it is." Karen quickly shucked her dark brown leather blazer, pulled off the offending blouse and slipped on the copper one, tucking it into the tight leather pants that matched the blazer. "God, I wish we'd had time to polish your boots," Patricia said. "Darling," Karen said, slipping her hands up under her lover's Victorian ruffle shirt to caress her breasts, "nobody will notice the condition of my boots once they see you." "Liz, stop that," Patricia said, writhing away from her. She tucked the shirt under the beaded waist of her forest green ankle-length skirt. "You don't want to go starting something you don't have time to finish. Would you help me with my shoes?" Karen rummaged in the overnight bag, pulling out a pair of black velvet flats with pewter trim. "Oh shit, you're going to want to dance tonight!" "Yes I am, Liz, and I'm going to want to dance with you." "Trish, will you rub my smelly sore feet when we're through?" "Silly woman, for the chance to dance with you I'll do that and much more," she said, leaning in to blow softly into Karen's ear. "Now who's starting things they don't have the time to finish?" growled Karen. * * * * * In their bedroom, Kelly and Jessica were finishing their preparations. Kelly's outfit had been relatively simple for her to get into; turquoise silk camisole and flounce jacket, low-rise distressed jeans and a pair of slides with three-inch heels that matched the camisole and jacket. Jessica, on the other hand, was having some minor issues. "I think I'm going to need more baby powder. I cannot fucking believe I'm having this much trouble with these damn boots!" The black riding boots were refusing to go on and between Jessica pulling and Kelly pushing it was starting to resemble some old comedy skit. Her black and purple mesh tulle skirt was in the way, they were running late and she hadn't even begun to get into her blackberry velvet corset top. "Here, here's some more powder... shake 'em around... alright, here we go, on three," Kelly said, positioning herself with a grip on the right boot. "One..." "Are you sure we can't just stay home and fuck?" "Yes, two..." "It's not that I don't want to go out, but this has become a nightmare." "I know, three!" The boot slid on as if it had never been any trouble at all. The two girls looked at each other and laughed. "Halfway there!" Kelly exclaimed as she readied to do battle yet again. * * * * * In the master bedroom, Margo and Carol were working on completing their dressing. Carol had just finished pulling the lacings tight on Margo's black satin, steel-boned corset. Margo turned to look at her pet. "So, how does it look?" "Madam, are you sure you've never dressed Goth or fetish before?" It was a valid question. The corset with it's deep plunging neckline, the black satin brocade and satin ball gown skirt, the black satin opera gloves and the lace and black ribbon choker all added up to a vision that would've looked right at home at the Samhain Fetish Ball or any Goth club in the city. Although they were barely visible underneath the skirt, a stunning pair of buckled leather ankle boots finished out her ensemble. "Well, not and known I was doing so," Margo replied. "You look lovely, Madam." "Thank you, my love. Now let's finish with your outfit." Margo knelt down and buttoned Carol's suit top. The '40's tailored women's business suit, looking like something from a Hollywood glamour shoot, changed the lines of Carol's body remarkably. She looked severe, all angles and edges, sharp and painful. Margo helped her put on her three-inch platform heels. "How the hell do you walk on those?" she asked the young woman. "A lot of practice, Madam," Carol replied. "It's definitely an acquired skill and it took me a long time to acquire it." Finally Margo attached the collar and leash and placed the black period-pillbox hat and veil on her head, pinning it in place. "You look... like you're in mourning, Baby Girl." "Good, I should." "Let's go knock the boys' eyes out," Margo said with a mischievous glint in her eye. * * * * * Harry and Eddy felt like they'd walked into a black tie dinner in their jock-straps and flip-flops. First Tamara had entered and walked to Eddy, putting the leash in his hand. Harry had never seen her looking any lovelier than she did that night. "Eddy? She looks..." "Yes, she does, doesn't she? Theresa, my love, you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." "Thank you, Edward." Then Karen and Patricia had walked downstairs. "Dyke, you look very handsome tonight," Eddy said, sincerity evident in his voice. "So do you, Neanderthal," she replied. "And Patricia, whoa... you look lovely," Harry said. "Having a Keanu moment, Harry?" Patricia said, blushing. Then came Kelly and Jessica to general acclaim and improper propositions from one and all as Kelly preened and Jessica blushed. "Guys, ladies, thank you for the kind words and interesting proposals," Kelly said, kissing Karen on the cheek. "If only some of them were serious." Finally Margo led Carol out of the master bedroom and conversation in the living room stopped. "Uh, on a purely lust level, everyone in the room who would do either or both of these lovely ladies, show a hand," Eddy said in a reverent whisper. Seven hands shot up in the air. Margo and Carol laughed. "Eddy, thank you as always for your sweet, romantic way of putting things," Margo said. "Uh, Margo, you know I love you, as a friend and all. Lemme 'splain this to ya... what you're wearing isn't sweet and romantic, it's a 'fuck me now' wet dream. And Carol's outfit, well, that's a gawddamn submissive's board room fantasy come true," Eddy replied. "It most certainly is," Tamara said as she licked her lips. Margo looked at Carol, then down at herself. "You know, you may have a point, Eddy," she said, smiling. "I guess we'll just have to get used to being objects of lust, won't we, Baby Girl?" "Yes, Madam." Margo handed the leash to Harry and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I'm not sure why, but the money thing seems to have her feeling real insecure." "Got it," he replied. "Well, our ride should be here in," he looked at his watch, "shit, about now." Sure enough, within minutes there was the sound of a car pulling up outside. As everyone 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed over each other's outfits, Harry went to the door and announced, "Our carriage awaits." The ultra-stretch limo had been a lucky find for Harry although if he hadn't been able to find something suitable he would've been more than willing to call in a favor or two, and spend more money to make it happen. The company that G & P used for clients had a last-minute cancellation so no added effort was called for. On the trip to the Bangkok Inn Carol sat between Harry and Margo, eyes still downcast, snuggling up against both of them in turn. It was one of those situations where Harry didn't feel the time was quite right to ask what was wrong, so he leaned down and hugged her, murmuring in her ear, "Something's obviously got you feeling very insecure. That's fine, we're here for you. But you also need to know that whatever you're feeling, there's really no need to worry. Nothing has changed between you and us unless you want it to." "Thank you, sir," she said. Harry thought he heard a small bit of relief in her voice. The manager of the restaurant scurried to the door to greet them as they arrived. "Mr. Grimes, so good to see you again. The room is ready for you." "Thank you so much," he said, smiling. "I'm sorry, but I can't recall if we got your name the last time we were here?" "Mrs. Sukhawari, Mrs. Phailin Sukhawari, but please call me Phailin. Come right this way." As they moved through the restaurant they caused a small stir, primarily because of Tamara's and Carol's leashes. Soon they were in the comfortable seclusion of the Vimanmek Palace room. Two of the walls had sculpted half-columns along them with a panorama of the palace grounds and various outbuildings. The other two walls were made to look like carved stone walls. "This is a fairly accurate representation of the view from a balcony on the southeast side of the palace," Phailin said. "When the Thai ambassador was in town three years ago he made a point of stopping by, as he is a distant cousin of my husband's. He pointed out a few small errors which we had corrected. "Should we be expecting more guests to join you this evening?" she asked. "No, I don't-" Harry began. "Yes," Carol said, "one and possibly two more, thank you so much." Harry smiled, "Guess I'd better check with the evening's coordinator before I go answering any other questions." "That is always a wise course of action," Phailin replied, smiling in return. "My niece, Chatsiree, will be your hostess this evening. Be assured she is empowered to make everything as you wish it to be. Good evening." As she was leaving Chatsiree came in, She was in her mid-twenties and stunningly beautiful. "I am Chatsiree and you are the only group I am serving this evening so your needs and desires have my utmost attention. As I understand your party is not complete, would you prefer to wait or would you like to order drinks now?" Almost as soon as everyone had given their drink orders, Tatiana Turov was shown into the room. The eccentric artisan had dressed for the occasion in a burgundy Donna Karan outfit, top, slacks, cashmere cardigan and suede boots. Her hair was swept back and held in place with one of her own creations, a hair clasp of silver, that Harry remembered from their visit to her shop. At various points the clasp had brilliant red stones emplaced. Harry had thought they were rubies until he read the card next to the piece which said they were red garnets. Carol finally showed some animation. "Tattie! I'm so glad you could make it! Where's the boy toy?" "Oh darlin'," Tatiana replied. "He was all excited about a night out until I told him it was y'all. Then he went straight into a power pout and told me to have fun by myself because he'd rather die in some horribly dramatic fashion that I can't for the life of me be bothered to remember rather than spend time in your company. I do believe you upset the dear boy with your callous comments." Carol stood up, looking terribly contrite. "I'm sorry I hurt your boy toy's feelings, Tattie. Would a formal apology help?" "Oh HELL no, it's about time to trade him in on another model anyway, one that isn't stupid enough to start believing the bullshit lonely old women say in the throes of passion and start thinking the world revolves around them and their cocks. So are you going to be a proper hostess and make some introductions or what?" Carol took her around the table, making introductions and soon everyone was relaxing with their drinks, waiting for their meals. * * * * * "... so it was 1966, I was twenty ..." "So that makes you si-" "Enough of the math calculations, thank you very much Mr. Janak," Tatiana said, looking archly at him over the tops of her glasses, "so as I was saying, I was twenty, in my sophomore year at UT, and I already had a decent little business going in custom jewelry design. I had a little money and was a proto-hippie, hangin' around a lot of the beer joints and little hole-in-the-wall clubs where there was a lot of interesting music bein' made. "So it's Valentine's Day and I'm sittin' in the Student Union building, no boyfriend as was usual, when a friend of mine, Billy Ray, pops in and says we need to go get drunk and listen to some blues at this little beer joint. We do so and we have a pretty fun evening, sitting around with long-hairs and rednecks, just enjoyin' the music and getting' drunker by the beer. Finally it's time to leave and Billy Ray and I offer a ride to some people we'd been hangin' with, a girl who'd been singin' that night and a guy, and so it's the four of us in my VW Microbus. And I'm drunk and a little maudlin so I'm bitchin' about not havin' any man to call my own and this girl pipes up from the back seat that she's in the same boat and that it really sucks and we should go to New Orleans 'cause Mardi Gras was in full swing and if we couldn't find men at Mardi Gras we might as well shoot ourselves in the head. "Well, for a road trip like that we needed alcohol and cash. I stopped by my place and grabbed a wad of cash, but there was no place to buy booze that time of night so this guy in the back seat, Chet, says his roommate's dad keeps a well-stocked liquor cabinet and always has plenty of beer so if we grab his roomie we could probably raid the old man's supplies and outfit ourselves for the drive. None of us had no objection so we grab his roommate, who turns out to be a speed freak named Willie, go to his parent's place and clean the old man out. It's like two or three in the morning and we're loading up the bus with bottles of every kind of hootch imaginable and cases of beer. We manage to loot and pillage the place proper and we're away like the stealthy drunks we were prayin' we were." "Sorry to interrupt," said Karen, "but what was the girl in the back seat's name?" Tatiana looked at her imperiously. "Janis, if you must know, Ms. Pinard." "She from Port Arthur by any chance?" "Why yes, yes she was." "Fine, just curious." Everyone else at the table was looking at the two of them curiously as Tatiana returned to her story and Karen smiled smugly to herself. "So there we were, five drunk or otherwise altered freaks in a microbus, driving to New Orleans in the early morning hours, no plan, no clue. We get to Palestine and I'm way too wasted to see straight so we're all talkin' about finding a place to pull the bus over and crash for awhile when Willie the speed freak pops off sayin' he ain't tired and he ain't drunk and he'd be happy to drive. Oil of Roses Ch. 21 "Like an idiot, I let him. "So we're a busload of sleepin' drunks bein' driven through East Texas early in the morning by a speed freak. "Needless to say, we got pulled over. Seems Willie had a real loose grasp on the concept of speed limits, not surprising given his drug of choice, and so we got popped for speeding. 550 lbs of County Sheriff in a 250 lb uniform is flashin' his big ol' light in the back of the bus and roustin' all us freaks out. There we stood, drunk or hung-over, shiverin' in the cold, lined up in back of the van while Deputy Redneck pats down Willie, who's on the edge of speed-freak frenzy. Finally his Pigness gets back to us and pokes Chet in the belly with his billyclub, askin' him what he was on. "Chet... okay, all of y'all are through eatin' your desserts... Chet shows him what he was on 'cause he gets sick all over the Deputy, which provokes the predictable chain reaction and there we all are, dry heavin' by the side of the road with an Officer of the Lard that I'm sure was thinkin' of all the places he could hide our bodies. "So I was feelin' a little more clear after purgin' and I ask the Deputy if I could speak to him a moment. I explain to him that we're just a bunch of kids goin' to Mardi Gras and we were too drunk to drive so Willie, who wasn't drunk, just a little excitable, had taken the wheel and we were awful sorry about his pants and shoes and any fine for speedin' he wanted to levy I'd be happy to pay in cash right then so we could get back on the road and out of his jurisdiction, go be someone else's problem. I mean, I'm tryin' to get out twenty words a second before his reptilian hind-brain figures out he could still kill us all, take all our money and dump our bodies in the piney woods." "I take it you have a real low opinion of police, Tatiana?" asked Eddy. "You could say that. I grew up in the South, with a Russian name, during the Cold War. I grew up a freak, an outspoken woman and an advocate of civil rights in Texas during the '60's. That's not to say there aren't any good police. There are. It's just I have a long history with the not-good variety, including this one, and it does tend to color my opinion of them. "So this good ol' boy finally writes me out a citation for speeding, public intoxication, several other things I can't remember this long after, for a hundred and fifty dollars, looks me square in the eye and tells me that his handwriting is so bad that while it might look like one hundred and fifty on the citation it's really three hundred and fifty. "I told him I understood, my handwriting was very bad as well, got the money out of my purse, paid the man and we loaded up the bus and got the hell out of there. "To make a damn long story a little shorter, we all get to New Orleans, spend a few days partyin' and actin' like complete animals. Janis was right, even women who aren't conventionally attractive, like she and me, could get laid during Mardi Gras... repeatedly and pretty damn well. We were all livin' in my microbus, bathin' and washin' our clothes at the home of some other freaks we ran into in the French Quarter, and I'm going through the money I brought real quick, as I'm the only one who has any. No big deal, I was kinda used to it by then. But one night I notice my cash is almost gone so I announce that me and my bus were headin' back to Austin the next morning, all aboard who're comin' aboard. A couple of the people we'd met were interested in tryin' their luck in Texas so having room for two more I didn't have a problem with it. The little street urchin I'd been enjoyin' the company of, a boy who called himself Jean-Claude Duquesne, was most tearful that night, we had a wonderful parting evening. I was touched when I woke up the next morning to find he'd left me a rose. Of course, he was dead broke so I figgered he'd stole it, but it was the thought that counted. "We get everybody loaded up, Dack and Jillian secure their pitiful duffle bags full of stuff on the roof, and hung over as hell I start the drive back to Austin. "Long about Lafayette, Louisiana, everybody's tummies had calmed down enough to be hungry and I was about to need gas for the bus so we pulled in to a little truck stop figurin' we could get a bite to eat, some coffee, some gas, probably be good for a healthy chunk of the way back to Austin. We all tromp in and we're gettin' some dirty looks from the staff and customers. Hell, I figure the only reason we didn't get our asses stomped was that we were festooned in Mardi Gras beads and that alone'll warm most Louisianan's hearts. We get seated at a big ol' table away from everyone else and we go hog wild and pig crazy with that menu, I mean, we order the breakfast from hell. Everybody's feelin' worlds better about an hour later when we're finished. "Until I opened up my purse to pay for the meal... that little Cajun cocksucker Jean-Claude had ripped me off! Had to be him because no one else could've gotten close to where the purse was stashed without me noticin' it. Now we're a pile of freeloadin' proto-hippy freaks in a redneck truck stop in Lafayette and I'm havin' visions of becomin' Purina Alligator Chow. I'm almost in tears and Janis just pats my shoulder and tells me not to worry, she'll handle this. She goes to the manager, explains what happened and then tells the rest of the crew to start workin' to pay off our breakfast as that was only fair since they'd been moochin' off me for awhile. She was gonna go make us some gas money and I was gonna come with her to pass the hat. "So while Willie, Billy Ray, Chet, Dack and Jillian are washin' dishes, cleanin' out the restrooms, emptyin' the grease traps, moppin' and such, Janis and I go down the road and flag down a cop tellin' him we need to talk to the Chief of Police. He gives us a ride to the station, Janis and I explain everythin' to the Chief, tell him that the rest of our group is workin' off our debt to the truck stop and ask his permission for Janis to sing on the streets to raise us some gas money. "This good ol' boy is lookin' at us like we're some kind of zoological specimen he'd prefer was kept in a lab somewhere and then he scratches his big ol' buzzcut head and asks Janis to sing somethin'. She asks if he's got any requests. He allows as he was always partial to Jimmie Rodgers' "T For Texas", figurin' there was no way this freak knew that one. Was he ever surprised when with no further ado Janis breaks into it right there in his office, just growlin' out that song like there was no tomorrow. She even gets the yodelin' parts right and by the time she's finished we've got everybody that's on duty at the station in there listenin' to her and clappin'. "The Chief writes out a permit on a piece of note paper, hands her a five dollar bill and wishes us luck, tellin' us where he thought we could do the best business. "That's where we went and for the next couple of hours I stood there, my artsy fartsy little beret in my hands to collect donations while Janis Joplin sang for our gas money to get home." "You mean THE Janis Joplin?" Carol asked, dumbfounded as everyone else murmured amongst themselves, excepting Karen who'd guessed it long before. "The one and only... I heard her perform several time afterwards, but never was the experience anywhere near as... magical... as that day. She turned on the 'good old girl' charm and was takin' requests and workin' the passers-by; it was phenomenal. And while her singin' got more polished later in her career, to me it rarely sounded so joyful and, I don't know, singing for the hell of it, as it did that day. "So eventually she was tired and we both were cold and there was a policeman the Chief had sent to make sure nothin' happened to us who was more than happy to give us a ride back to the truck stop. We got there, collected the rest of the crew, got our gas, tipped the waitress, thanked the manager and headed home. We had enough so that when we got back into Austin, Janis took us all out to supper at the Villa Capri restaurant, after we cleaned up a bit. "Four months later that same Chet, Chet Helms, invited her out to California and she left Austin, moved to San Francisco and became a member of Big Brother and the Holding Company. Any time you see her wearing a bunch of bracelets I can pretty much guarantee you that there're probably two or three in the group that she bought from me after the band hit big at the Monterey Pop Festival." "Let me guess, you're the reason Tony had all of her albums and saw her perform?" Carol asked. "You bet I am. I damn near had to make him listen to her at gunpoint at the time, kinda funny considering his profession, but once he did he was an immediate fan. But anyway, that's the story of my one and only trip to Mardi Gras and how I met Janis Joplin." * * * * * When after-dinner drinks were finished and Carol had proudly paid the tab, the group of them headed out to the limo. "You're coming with us aren't you, Tatiana?" asked Carol. "Certainly, if y'all've got room for one more in that monstrosity." "Ma'am, for you, we'd make the room," Karen said. "I think I might could persuade this sweet young thing to sit on my lap and listen to me make lewd propositions in her ear." She kissed Patricia on the cheek. Tatiana looked at her over the top of her glasses yet again. "I somehow suspect that you would be doing that whether I needed a ride or not, Karen." "And you'd be right, Ms. Turov. How fortuitous that you do need a ride when I'm so inclined," Karen said, smiling broadly. They all piled in for the relatively short drive to the Chateau de Chantilly. As they rode along, Carol leaned in and whispered to Margo, "How much will I owe y'all for the limo service?" "Not a penny, dear, and Harry and I are firm on this. It's our contribution to this evening and you will let us cover it or Madam will be most displeased, as will Harry." "Yes ma'am. You're paying for the limo," Carol said, eyes downcast but with a smile upon her face. Tatiana sat in the limo, regal and aloof, watching the young people around her. She liked them. She liked them all. Carol had done well for herself and was surrounded by people that Tony would have approved of wholeheartedly, although some of them would have mystified him somewhat. Karen and Patricia, Kelly and Jessica... Tony wouldn't have really understood their relationship, but he wouldn't have had a problem with it. He was possessed of a remarkably "live and let live" attitude when not on family business. When he was on family business he was one of the scariest men Tatiana had ever met. But such was one of the dichotomies of Tony Juliana and one of the reasons she'd found him such a fascinating human being. Carol's relationship with Tony was one that Tatiana would envy for the rest of her days, but while she and Tony had become close friends over the years, she'd had to live with the pain of Tony never looking at her that way. It was a pain she'd had a lifetime to get used to, a thousand different times, a thousand different men. Behind the regal bearing and mask of aloofness, Tatiana ate her nightly supper of loneliness, a bottle of unshed tears her private vintage wine. * * * * * As the limo pulled into the strip mall parking lot and the party disembarked, Carol looked around. "Shit, he got here before us," she said to herself. No one else noticed the five men who stayed in the shadows but missed nothing that went on anywhere near the club. * * * * * "Goddamn it Niccolo, this is exactly the kind of thing I didn't want you to do!" Carol said as she got up in the face of a handsome young man in a grey Armani suit. "Look Carol, you know me. If you didn't want this happening, you shouldn't have invited me," the young man responded calmly. The inside of the Chateau de Chantilly had been somewhat transformed. The bandstand, such as it was, was crowded by the addition of a standing bass player and a saxophonist. A section of tables had been removed and a small dance floor cleared. A caterer had been brought in and a small buffet of what smelled to be superb Italian food had been set up. Everyone in the bar, including the staff, were wearing black armbands. By the bar there was a framed picture of a distinguished looking gentleman of Mediterranean extraction with black crepe draped around the frame. Bizoumet and her new accompanists were rolling through "Take the A-Train" and the crowd, plates of food in front of them, seemed to be having a good time. "Everyone, this is Niccolo Philouma," Carol said. "Niccolo, this is my Master and Mistress, Harry and Margo Grimes." On she went, down the line until she got to Tatiana. "Aunt Tattie, I'm so glad to see you out of that workshop," Niccolo said, giving her a big hug and kiss. "I called your place and Pyotr was most upset... forgot his accent and everything. Told me you were already with this gang of miscreants. Saved me the trouble of having to drag the two of you out, kicking and screaming." "Oh, I wouldn't have been the one kicking and screaming, I suspect. I might have found out more about Pyotr's true orientation than I want to know if you'd tried to get him to come. I suspect he would have reached levels of screaming queendom hitherto unseen outside of a theater group." "Aunt Tattie, what a terrible thing to say about one's paramour," Niccolo replied, smiling. Once again Tatiana Turov was peering imperiously at someone over the top of her glasses. "Niccolo Anthony Philouma, you are far too intelligent and I'm far too... experienced... to believe Peter is my 'paramour'. He's a gigolo who likes my money a good bit more than I like what he does to me with his body." She saw the mischievous grin on Niccolo's face. "Good God boy, you can still find that much joy in yanking your Aunt Tattie's chain? I'd have hoped you'd have outgrown it by now. You get that from your godfather, you know." "Yes and it's in his honor that I'll be trying to rattle the bars of your cage repeatedly over the course of the evening." The trio on the bandstand swung into "April In Paris". "But first, I've been remiss in my most pleasant duty to tell you that you look lovely this evening. May I have this dance, Aunt Tattie?" She smiled and offered him her hand and without another word they twirled off onto the dance floor. "So that's the true heir to the Philouma family business?" mused Eddy. "Yes it is," Carol said. "And with all the other families expecting stupid fat Phillie to take over the business, they're all primed for a quick and dirty takeover of the Philouma interests. Won't they be surprised? I expect Niccolo will either wipe out or absorb several of the smaller families in the first week or two. Then the larger families will sue for peace, realizing the new and true state of affairs and Vic and Niccolo's plans will have succeeded admirably. Niccolo will be head of a larger, stronger, more profitable family and a lot of the little riff-raff families that have been clogging up the works will be out of the picture, one way or another." "You and Tony talked about family matters a lot, didn't you?" Karen asked. "One of his favorite subjects," Carol said, smiling to herself. "The aftermath of Vic's death was one of his biggest concerns and he often pondered how it would work out. Even he didn't know, or if he did he never let on to me, that Vic was bringing up Niccolo behind the scenes to take over. The public image has always been that Niccolo was estranged from the family. It was only Vic's recent decline in health that brought him back into the fold. But enough talk about things we probably shouldn't be talking about. "I see that Nick has reserved us a large table, let's go sit down and order some drinks. I suspect this party will be a long one." After the song was finished, Bizoumet excused herself from the piano and the bassist and saxophonist went into a little improvisational jam as she headed for the table. "Alright Carol," she said as she arrived, "you know I'm going to get you up there singing tonight so you might as well resign yourself to the idea right now." "And a good evening to you too, dear," Carol replied. "I figured there was no way out of it when I first thought of coming here tonight. But give me a bit, alright?" Introductions were made around the table as Nick and Tatiana came to sit down as well. After everyone had met and drink orders been delivered, Carol turned to Harry. "Sir, I'm covering our tab tonight but if we go over what I have on me I'll reimburse you for what I can't cover immediately" "Nope, not happening. Margo and I are picking up the bar tab for all of us tonight." "Harry, you're crazier than a shithouse rat. You got the limo, Tamara and I are covering the bar tab," Eddy said, "and I don't wanna hear no gawddamn argument about it." "I'm not going to argue with you, you knuckle-dragging Neanderthal throwback, I'm just going to beat the shit out of you like I was your mama and pay the bill," Karen said. "Well, I'd offer to do evil things to your body, Karen, so Jessica could steal the check from you," Kelly said, "but unfortunately this'll end up being way too rich for our blood. But if you'd like for us to try and pay, we'll offer up our innocent young bodies to the crowd," she smirked. "Absolute and complete nonsense!" Tatiana exclaimed. "I have far more money than I know what to do with and I'm picking up the tab. That's the end of the matter; let's hear no more about it!" Niccolo sat back smiling. "You know, there are times when I love being me. You see, I'm the one with armed guards surrounding the club. I'm also the one who's already made it clear to the house that I'm picking up the tab for everyone in the place tonight. So I win the Great Tony Juliana's Wake Bar Tab Pissing Contest, hands down." Tatiana looked down her nose at him. "You, young man, do not fight fair." "I'm sure you have a point in that statement somewhere, Aunt Tattie, I'm just not seeing it. Now then, who needs a refill?" As everyone laughed he motioned a waitress over. "Rosalind, be a dear and get another of the same for everyone." "If you don't mind me asking, Mr. Philouma," Harry began. "Call me Nick." "Nick," Harry continued, "how are you avoiding having the bar fill up with freeloaders?" "First off, the patrons don't know I'm covering their tabs and won't, until they're on their way out. Secondly, the waitress and bartender grapevine has spread the word as to who I am. Generally speaking, people don't try to take advantage of people with my last name in this town. And thirdly, so what if they do? In reality I think it's a pretty safe bet I have more money than Aunt Tattie, so spending a little more of it isn't going cause me to miss any meals." Carol sat snuggling between Margo and Harry. "So Nick, how'd you lose any unwanted escorts this evening?" "Wasn't that hard, although I want you to know that it wounded my Sicilian patrician soul to ride in a Honda Civic to get here unseen. The boys weren't happy about their various low-end rides either, but they did the job. We managed to lose any local, state and/or federal watchers." He looked at Harry and Margo. "Carol was most insistent that I not bring you the kind of 'official scrutiny' that I live under. She's a very good girl." Margo leaned down and kissed Carol, whispering "Thank you" while Harry said "Yes she is, she's a wonderful girl." After a bit more conversation around the table, Bizoumet went back to the piano and the trio began playing dance music once more. The tiny dance floor was soon crowded with couples, leaving Carol and Tatiana alone at the table after they begged off, forcing Nick to dance with a lovely woman who had wandered in a bit earlier by herself. Oil of Roses Ch. 21 "He would have loved this, you know," Tatiana said as she got up and came over to sit next to Carol. "Oh Tattie, yes he would have indeed. He would've had the best time here tonight." "And you know he would approve of your family and friends, don't you?" "I hope so." "Carol, darlin', I know so and if you weren't so wrapped up in the middle of it all you'd know it too. Tony would've loved them all and with his charm they would have adored him as well." "Tattie... Tony left me... money." "Of course he did, honey. There was never any doubt in my mind that he would. I assumed you already had it." "Nope, just found out today. Tattie... he left me over a quarter of a million dollars... in cash." "Sounds about right and there's not a penny of that you don't deserve. Oh, I don't mean you earned it on the flat of your back. Despite your behavioral... peculiarities... you've never been a whore. You earned it by being you and by loving and caring for him and by making him happy. I suspect that if you'd never bedded him and had done nothing more than played Parcheesi with him every day until the end he would have done the same thing and you'd have deserved it just as much. "So, little Carol, what's really bothering you? Because you can't fool old Aunt Tattie into thinking it's anything you've mentioned so far." The small woman looked up at her companion. "Tattie, money... changes things... you know that. What if Harry and Margo don't want me anymore because now I'm financially independent and don't 'need' them?" "Absolute fuckin' tommyrot! Not a chance in the world and if you'd quit worryin' yourself into a tizzy you'd see it too. They love you, little one, they love you more than either of them really suspects or understands, in my opinion. "You are a part of them. Never doubt it. Trust me, they don't. And if you don't believe me or can't accept that, ask them. Talk to them about it. You're smart enough to figure that out. What else?" "What the fuck am I going to do with a quarter of a million dollars, Tattie? I've never had more than a thousand or twelve hundred dollars to my name ever. Tonight I pulled out two grand to cover supper, as well as other expenses nobody is letting me cover. I've never had two thousand dollars at one time, much less a quarter of a million." "Carol, dear, calm down. Money can be scary, especially if you've never had it before. I remember the first time one of my pieces sold after I got some recognition. I had priced the piece at nine hundred, thinking that might be a little steep. The store owner I had just started selling through, Evelyn, who became my business manager and remained so for years afterwards, looked at me like I was crazy. She told me to put a two in front of the nine and I'd still be on the cheap side of what the market would pay. I happened to still be in her shop when a woman walked in, a casual shopper, saw the necklace and had to have it. Ten minutes later she was heading out the door with it, thrilled with the bargain she'd found and I was in complete and total shock. This little ol' gal had no clue how to handle the kind of money Evelyn was telling me I was going to be making. "So I asked for help. I asked people I trusted. From what I know of Margo, Harry and Karen, none of them are handling their own investments and such. They have people who handle that for them. Hell, if nothing else, talk to Niccolo. I'm sure he knows people who could help you figure out how to invest your money, take care of it, help it grow. "Now then, is there anything else you'd like to talk about, anything else that's bothering you?" "No, not really." "Well come on then, I'm pretty sure that you and I can find room out there to dance together." "I'd be honored, Tattie." "Stuff and nonsense, the pleasure's all mine." * * * * * After several dances Bizoumet sent a note with one of the waitresses that she was about to stop playing unless Carol came up and sang so she reluctantly took the stage. Carol had been dreading this all night. She was so scared she'd break down on stage, thinking of Tony and put a pall on the evening, an evening which so far had gone marvelously. She needn't have worried. She closed her eyes and held onto the mike stand as she swayed back and forth, dancing with Tony in her mind, singing to him as she had when he was alive. There were tears a-plenty in the club that night, but none of them were Carol's. She performed for her old friend, lover and Master one last time. She sang with all she had in her and it flowed out through the audience, touching everyone there. She did a set of his ten favorite songs and when she was finished she was drained, holding on to the mike stand more for support than anything else. Nick walked up to her, helped her from the stage and sat her on a bar stool. He took her head in both hands and kissed her on each cheek. "You did him proud tonight," Nick said, tears in his eyes. "I don't doubt he heard you. I can't believe in a God that wouldn't let him hear you." After she rested a bit and had some water, Harry appeared beside her. "May I have this dance, Baby Girl?" The next hour or so passed as she danced with everyone, even people from the audience who used the time to tell her how much they had appreciated her performance. It was 2:00 when the regular patrons were ushered out. "Well now," Harry said, "time to relax a bit." Bizoumet had joined them at the table. "You folks know how to throw a wake, especially you, Nick. If this girl eats anymore of that food I won't have anything that fits me." "I find that hard to believe," Nick said, smiling. "I've seen you eating tonight and I'm sure you haven't put on an ounce." "Another true gentleman... Eddy, where do you find these marvelous men?" Bizoumet purred. "I just tell 'em about you, darlin' and I can't keep 'em away," Eddy said, smiling. The conversation continued until around 4 AM. "Toast time!" Harry announced. "A full circle." The traditions were explained and everyone got a fresh drink. "To friends present," said Harry. "To absent friends," Eddy announced. "To absent loves," Karen added. "To Tony Juliana," Carol said. "To light, love and laughter," Tatiana interjected. "To those we hold most dear," said Margo. "To new friends," added Bizoumet. "To plenty of time to love," Kelly said. "To freedom," announced Jessica. "To dreams coming true," said Patricia. "To finding your heart's desire," added Tamara. "Success for all our friends, confusion to all our enemies," finished Nick. And then there was silence as drinks were emptied. It was 4:30 AM when Nick finally paid the tab, everything was packed up and the Chateau de Chantilly was as it had been before. The limo full of only slightly drunk but very tired friends headed to Tatiana's home to drop her. When they arrived 'Pyotr' was busily pacing back and forth in the living room, visible through the drapes. As Tatiana trudged wearily up the walk, the rest of them got out and yelled in unison, "GOODNIGHT PETER". After which Carol shouted "You fuckin' poseur!" Laughing they fell over themselves getting back into the limo as Tatiana's cackling filled the night. * * * * * Before the limo had gotten two blocks away from Tatiana's, the first pair of shoes had come off and soon no one was wearing anything on their feet. "Whoever it was wrote 'I Could Have Danced All Night' was clearly out of their freakin' mind," Eddy groaned. "If I don't have blisters it's a miracle. If I do have blisters, I'm gonna whimper a lot." "There, there, Edward. If you have blisters I'll pamper you. It's my duty and my pleasure," Tamara said, hugging his arm. "Issum big bad Eddy gonna whimper wikum wittle baby?" Karen asked, grinning. "Yes, Dyke, yes I will. Of course, if you were to mention it too many more times I bet I could still find it in me to beat your ass at arm-wrestling while I'm whimpering." "Besides," Patricia said, jumping in, "I'd put Liz up against Eddy in the 'Worlds Biggest Baby Contest' when she's sick. Good Lord, you'd think a cold meant she was dying of the plague." "I'm not that bad!" Karen said indignantly. "Oh yes you are!" Eddy laughed. "Okay, for being big whiny babies when we're in pain, let's call it a draw and be thankful we have wonderful women who indulge us." "Agreed. Uh, I'm not sure it was a real good idea for me to take those boots off," Karen said apologetically. "I'm sorry, y'all." "Not a problem, that's why God made sunroofs, to let in ventilation," Harry replied as he hit the switch to open the limo's and turning up the fan in the air conditioner. "Besides, Dyke," Eddy growled as the somewhat cool early morning air swirled about the interior, "your feet can't stink anywhere near as badly as mine. I swear these bad boys could knock a buzzard off a shit wagon tonight." "Your foot stench ain't shit, Neanderthal. Mine would set the goddamn shit wagon on fire." "If you two get into a foot funk pissing war, Tamara and I are going to beat both of you senseless, sell you to the gypsies and live together happily ever after. Isn't that right, Tamara?" Patricia said. "Yes ma'am." Tamara replied, cuddling up to Patricia, who sat next to her. "Eddy, when was it you first knew you'd lost control?" Karen asked, smiling. "Karen, unlike you I was never silly enough to think I was ever in control," Eddy replied, grinning back at her. The limo-full of laughing friends cruised on into the night. * * * * * Once home the bathrooms were used in shifts as makeup was scrubbed off and sweaty bodies were given quick once-overs. By 5:30 seemingly everyone was asleep, dead to the world. Except Harry. He and Margo had cuddled up on either side of Carol, holding her and each other as they got comfortable. Carol had dropped off almost immediately but Margo had seemed restless and Harry had just been unable to get to sleep at all. Deciding that awake and moving about was better than lying in bed and pissed off, he got up and headed for the kitchen. Rummaging around in the pantry he found some hot cocoa mix, the kind with little marshmallows, and decided that a cup or two couldn't hurt and might help, especially if he sweetened it with whiskey. He had just settled down at the kitchen table with his first cup, watching the sky gradually lighten out the window, when Margo padded in. "Hey honey, what are you doing up?" he asked. "I could ask you the same question. I just couldn't sleep. Is there anymore of that cocoa?" "There certainly is. Shall I make you a cup?" "Oh please, love." "With whiskey or without." "With, by all means." Harry puttered about and before too much longer was back, sitting at the table with Margo as they both inhaled the chocolate fragrance rising from their mugs. "Harry, I'm worried about Carol. She's been so... I don't know, skittish I guess, since finding out about the money Tony left her. Insecure, like because she has money, we're going to kick her out of the nest." * * * * * Carol had woken up shortly after Margo left the bed. Her sleep had appeared much deeper than it was as there were far too many thoughts and emotions running loose in her head. She had gotten out of bed and headed for the kitchen, arriving in time to hear Margo say she was worried about her. Carol had hung back behind the doorway, frightened yet curious. * * * * * "Funny, I can't sleep because I'm afraid she'll leave us, now that she has money," Harry replied. "I know it's silly, I know that much more than financial need lies at the heart of our relationship. It has from the very start. But still, irrationally, the thought scares the hell out of me. I can tell myself it isn't going to happen, over and over, and it doesn't help in the least. My mind relaxes and the fear comes rushing back, as strong as ever." "You have nothing to be scared of," Carol said as she came into the kitchen and threw her arms around Harry's neck. "This is silly," she continued as she went and hugged Margo. "I'm scared shitless that you're going to 'kick me out of the nest', as Margo put it, and you're scared I'm going to fly away. Tattie was right. I should've just sat down and talked this over with the two of you." "Well," Harry said, "we're all here now. Would you like a cup of cocoa? With or without whiskey?" "Yes, please, with," Carol said, settling into a kitchen chair. "Look, I'm not going to leave unless you want me to." "And it'll be a very cold day in Hell before that happens," Margo replied. "Right," Harry said, "so do you think we can all stop tweaking so hard and just relax. Carol, honey, you're a part of this, as much as I am, as much as Margo is. There isn't any 'Margo and Harry', 'Harry and Carol' or 'Carol and Margo', there's just 'us'. I know that's hard for me to wrap my head around sometimes. It's not a family arrangement I was raised imagining. But it's ours and it's going to work for us because we're going to keep loving each other and talking to each other and loving each other some more until we make it work." "He's right, none of us are alone in this... and that's something I've been needing to remember from time to time," Margo said. "Harry, when I set up my hours with the clinic, I kept the option open to take Fridays off. I think I'm going to start doing that. You and Carol have Mondays together, and I don't begrudge you that at all, but our weekends tend to get eaten up with friends and running around. I want a day that's just for us." "Then you better switch it around to Mondays, darling wife. Anna and Galena are in the house on Fridays and while Anna would smile and ignore the show I don't think she'd approve of her underage daughter attending." "Good point, I'll discuss it with the clinic director Monday morning... oh shit, tomorrow morning. Christ, I'd forgotten it's Sunday already." She looked out the window at the brightening daylight. "So, we make Mondays a day for just the three of us, nobody else. Sound like a plan?" "Works for me," Harry said. "Force me to spend the day with the two people I can't live without? Oh, my life is a never-ending, torturous grind of pain and degradation." "Only if you ask nicely, dear," Margo replied, kissing him on the cheek. "Work for you, sweetie?" "Yes Madam," Carol said, "in fact it sounds like heaven to me." "Fine, then let's finish our cocoa and head for bed. I don't know about you two, but I've been awake far too long." Fifteen minutes later the three of them were well on the way to joining the rest of the house in deep sleep. Oil of Roses Ch. 22 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. Oil of Roses Ch. 22 Oil of Roses Ch. 23 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * "I'm afraid things aren't going to work out between her and me," Kelly said after Jessica went upstairs, sadness flooding across her face. "She's too scared or too distrustful or too something, I don't know what, to relax and be comfortable with you... to be... to be..." "A part of the family?" Margo asked. "Yeah, that's it, that's it exactly! And she resents that I am a part of it. If she can't come to terms with it, I don't see much future for us." "You know that whatever happens, we'll be here for you," Carol said, stroking Kelly's hair. Margo wrapped her arms around Kelly and hugged her tight. "You're a part of us, sweetheart, nothing can change that." For a long time the three of them sat together on the floor, touching each other. Slowly the consternation grew on Kelly's face until she gave it voice. "And that's another thing that's pissin' me off," Kelly said angrily, shrugging out of their arms. "Right now I want get the two of you naked and make love like there's no tomorrow but I know, sure as I do, Jess'll come out of our room and take it wrong and get pissed or hurt... I'm startin' to resent her. And I never want to resent her. I don't mind editing my behavior on occasion because it's not a good time, I mind it feeling like it's never a good time, and that any time I spend with you is some sort of special fuckin' gift she's giving me as a great fuckin' sacrifice!" "Well honey, we couldn't anyway, you know Harry's liable to be home with his sister any time," Carol said soothingly. "Oh bullshit! You know Harry's going to call and give us plenty of time." She turned and pushed Margo down on a pile of cushions. "And Big Mama, you know what I want to do to you," she fell upon her, in full predatory mode. She reached back and grabbed Carol, pulling her down as well, "And what I want to do to Juicy-sweet here, and even if all of that went down, there's nothing we couldn't clean up," she moved her hand down inside of Margo's shorts, caressing her cunt and back out again, "and have you looking all wifely when they get home." She thrust her head into the front of Margo's shirt, using her chin to pop the buttons as she drug her face down Margo's front. Margo took her head gently in her hands. "Sweetie, I understand, I do... you're angry right now, and you're acting out that anger by doing something that could lead to a quick resolution of all your problems. But that quick resolution would be driving Jess away, and you don't really want that." Carol pulled her off of Margo into a hug. "I agree, Kelly. Why don't you go up there and talk to her, or just sit with her while she thinks? "Because," Kelly said, struggling to keep the tears out of her voice, "I just want her to be part of the family, for all this to be okay... and damn it, I want it now! I mean, I can understand, in my head, why she's having these problems, but my heart doesn't understand at all. To me, wanting to become a member of the family was as natural as breathing... it was resisting that urge that was difficult and required thought and effort. How can someone, especially someone in Jess' position, at odds with her mother, few friends, no other family, not want to be a part of a group that's already welcomed her with open arms?" "I don't know either," Carol said. "But one thing I do know. Relationships take work, a lot of it, and that work has to be done even when you don't want to have to do it, or you're tired, or you're frustrated, or you're pissed off. You know that as well as I do. You and Jessica are worth the effort. Go to it." "Yeah, I know... just felt like being a selfish, spoiled bitch for awhile," Kelly replied, shaking her head ruefully. "No baby, you're tired and frustrated, not selfish and spoiled. Trust me... we'd beat you if you were selfish and spoiled," Margo said smiling, hugging Kelly once more. Kelly got up off the floor and looked down at Margo, her old familiar grin back on her face. "You know, you keep making those promises..." And she headed upstairs to be with her lover. * * * * * "...and so that's how things stand as of this morning," Harry finished, looking down at his empty beer mug. "Glass of water, please, Ruben?" he said, raising a hand towards the bartender. His sister looked at him, thoughts flickering across her face too rapidly to read. She rooted around in the remnants of the flaky mushroom crusts, found a bit she liked and popped it in her mouth, chewing it slowly. "Harry, are you sure you aren't just in the middle of some wonderful dream?" she asked, gazing at her brother speculatively. "Nope, although most days I ask myself something similar at least once. I've never been so happy, Nicki. I mean, don't get me wrong, there have been rough times, and I have no doubt there'll be more. But I know now that there's nothing I can't face with the help of my friends and family. Nothing. "Now, if all this is too freaky and weird for you, I'll gladly put you up at a hotel, no problem. But I'd love you to come home, stay with us... all of us." "Oh, I'm coming with you... don't worry, my sensibilities aren't shocked at all, except in that whole 'this is happening and my big brother is in the middle of it' way." She smiled. "I'm just trying not to let my envy of you eat my head. "The last five years have been... well, they've been very lonely, Harry. After the divorce, I didn't date for a long time, and then when I did start going out again, it was like every guy I met punched the wrong buttons somehow. Finally I just said 'fuck it' and gave up on a social life. I'm married to my vibrator. I haven't named it, but I figure that'll be the next step towards becoming a social hermit. "And you've really cut your schedule back to three days a week? Karen, too?" "Ahyup. Just this morning Margo decided that the three of us need more 'us' time, so she's moving her day off to Monday as soon as she can. We don't need more money, we need more life." "Sounds heavenly... I'm still putting in 90 to 100 hour weeks; I'm tired all the time. My editors have been kind enough not to say it yet, but I can tell that the quality of my work is suffering." "You still on tranqs?" "Occasionally... whenever I finish a story and realize that although it's over, I'm still too wired to relax, rest, sleep. Then? You betcha. Otherwise, not so much. Mostly I just drink too much." "I keep telling ya, smoke dope and it'll go easier with you." "Well, from what you've told me, I'm probably not going to have much of a choice while I'm staying with you, am I? I've always been too worried about getting caught to really relax and enjoy it." "Well, we'll work on that as well... try to sway you to the outlaw side of the Force," Harry said with a grin. "You're on," she replied, her corresponding grin clearly marking them as siblings. * * * * * Kelly walked into the bedroom she shared with Jessica to find her lover packing. "Jess, angel, you want to tell me what's happening?" she asked, fear already making itself heard in her voice. Jessica turned to her, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes, sliding down on top of the tracks of older tears tracks. "I've called Quan and she said I could crash out on her couch for awhile, until I could find my own place. "Kelly, I love you. I know you love me. But I thought about it, like Margo said, and it hit me hard when I realized that I need to be somebody's 'one and only'. I need that. I need to be the special one that my lover's life revolves around, just like she's the one I revolve around. "And please believe me; I understand why I can't be that for you, not full-time. This family of yours, they're some wonderful people and I love them all, but they don't fill the same roles in my life that they do in yours. "I want to go on dating you, I definitely want to go on making love with you, and anytime you want to get together, just the two of us, you can bet I'll be available. Hell, face it Kelly. You give me the right look and I'll follow you almost anywhere. "But I just can't stay in this close of a relationship this way. It isn't working for me at all. And it's best for me, and I think for you as well, if I go before the frustration makes it ugly." And then they both were crying and reaching for each other. And Kelly said "I'm sorry" and Jessica said "you never promised me it would be any different" and they fell together on the bed and held each other and cried because they each were they way they were. * * * * * The pale blue Ford Econoline van that had been an unnoticed part of Harry's life for quite some time pulled into traffic several car lengths behind Harry and Nicki as they left The Pearl. * * * * * "There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time," Nicki said as they made their way back to the house. "Not everything I said at that rehearsal dinner had the purest motivations." "No, I told you, you were right, hell, you were more than right. Everything you said was dead on." "No, I'm not saying what I said was wrong, goofball, I'm saying that the reasons I hit you with it weren't necessarily the high and mighty "I must save my brother from a disastrous marriage" ones that you might imagine they were." "I'm still not following you," Harry said as he shifted lanes. "I know, I'm off to a real dismal start at explaining it. Alright, let's try it this way; I've had three strong male figures in my life while I was growing up. Every last one of them was, in his own way, an exemplary human being. "There was Dad, who was always special, but who showed me in the last years of Momma's life that there was nothing more important than love and family. He put his entire life into taking care of her and keeping the two of us feeling that there was hope for her, and for us as a family, no matter what the doctors said or how bad it looked. "There was Eddy, who, once I got over being terrified of him when I was younger, taught me that no matter how fierce and strong and imposing a man is, he can still be gentle and kind and thoughtful and sweet. And furthermore that exhibiting those qualities doesn't lessen him in any way, but instead strengthens him. "And then there was you, brother dear. After Momma and Dad died, you didn't really change, you just shouldered the burden of being executor of their estates, helping me through the grieving and kept on keeping on. You showed me a lesson I have yet to really master... that you can be who you are and still be successful, you can remain true to yourself and still do what you need to do. I mean, come on, in high school would anyone have believed you'd be co-owner of a successful business? Yet until An-... until that woman, you never stopped being good ol' Harry Grimes, same as you ever were. "And so with the three of you as the strong male images in my life, is it any wonder Patrick didn't measure up? I mean, it's not like Patrick didn't have his own set of issues that would have had us hitting divorce court sooner or later, but there was no way in fucking hell he could measure up to the ideals I held for what a man could and should be." "Okay, Nicki," Harry said, checking the rear-view mirror as he shifted lanes again and took an off-ramp. "Hey, you didn't signal!" "I know, my bad, I'm sorry... so you have a view of me that's rose-colored at best and being exposed to Dad and Eddy, as well as your delusions where I'm concerned, led to some unrealistic expectations of Patrick. How does this relate to what you said at the rehearsal dinner, or better said, how does it relate to your motives for saying what you did?" Nicki punched him in the shoulder. "Ow!" "Rose-colored, my ass! What it has to do with my motives is that not only was I telling you my honest evaluation of that woman and what I saw in her... but even if you'd been marrying the perfect woman for you, flawless in every way, I would have been looking for something, anything, making shit up... simply because to me, there couldn't be a woman good enough for you. "You're a very special man, and I couldn't find a way to tell you at the time, I couldn't have found the words and I didn't recognize what was going on... but I was telling you what I told you not only because Ang-... that woman... was a cum-guzzling dumpster slut from the seventh level of skank hell, but because to me there was no woman good enough for you." "I love you too, sis. And thank you. I may disagree with your evaluation, but I appreciate your honesty and I love you." "Harry, is there any reason you turned off way the fuck ahead of our exit?" "Uh, yeah... yeah, I got distracted by the conversation and thought I was one place when I was really another. That's the problem with these strip malls, make it damn hard for someone who almost subconsciously navigates by landmarks. "But look, there's a Baskin-Robbins... and I'm in the mood for ice cream. You still a Rocky Road junkie or have you turned from the darkness and joined the Enlightened Ones who worship Mint Chocolate Chip?" * * * * * "That was Harry. He and Nicki have stopped off for ice cream... the rat bastard! I told him to bring some home for us too," Margo said as she hung up her phone. "So, since the kids are upstairs hopefully making nice with each other, it's just you and me, darling." "Oh shucky darn," said Carol as she flowed into Margo's arms and they began to dance again. * * * * * "So, with you having no luck with men, wearing out batteries on your toys... you ever considered giving women a try?" Harry asked, looking out the window as he ate his ice cream, smiling evilly. "HARRY! We're in a Baskin-fuckin'-Robbins, for Christ's sake! Watch what you say!" "I'm not the one who just said a naughty word and blasphemed... but I will keep my voice down... now, quit avoiding the question." Nicki's voice dropped to a whisper. "Yeah, once or twice... there's this woman at the office... Georgina... God, she's gorgeous... well, she walks both sides of the street and one day after a particularly rough story finally got filed, she stopped by my desk and invited me out for drinks with her and some other girls after work. "Turned out the rest of the women made an early night of it... I was going to as well, but she convinced me I deserved a mental health day and tying one on that night was the perfect excuse to call in sick the next day. Turned out she and I both called in, neither one of us was hung-over, but we spent the day in bed anyway. I've seen her again, but it's real casual... definitely fuck-buddies, no romance at all, and she does her best to keep it that way. Why do you ask, you pervert?" "Well, it was sort of a necessary question. Sexy as you are, once the crew got relaxed around you, it was going to be a race to see whether Kelly or Carol made the first move on you." He continued to scan the parking lot. "And I don't mean anything subtle, either. I mean naked, wild and willing woman, crawling into your lap and doing a full-court-press kind of move. And if you hadn't considered that side of the street, I was gonna tell you that you might want to start doing so. And if you were totally opposed to the idea, I'd know so I could warn the little hedonists." "You mean the gang isn't going to be on their best behavior just because I'm visiting?" "All depends... you want to be treated as a guest, or as family?" Nicki sat back in her chair, stuck another spoonful of Rocky Road in her mouth and sucked on it thoughtfully. "I'd like to be treated as family... but I'm not sure how comfortable I'll be getting naked myself." "Don't worry about it. No one holds a gun to anybody's head, and a motion to adjourn to a bedroom is always in order. Hell, Eddy is very rarely without a stylin' set of boxers." "Harry?" "Yeah, Nicki?" "What the hell's so damned fascinating out in the parking lot?" He started, then looked over at her guiltily. "I'm sorry, sis. It's just so pretty out there, and this is the kind of conversation it's easier for me to have with my sister if I'm not looking at her." * * * * * The occupants of the blue Econoline van spotted Harry's car once again. Fearing they'd been made, they parked their vehicle at the far end of the lot and watched, waiting for Harry to show. * * * * * Harry smiled; a tight, grim, bitter smile. He turned from the window. "But you're right, it's a conversation best had face to face," he said, gazing into Nicki's eyes. "Myself, I don't worry about being naked. I know that with the wealth of beautiful women around, nobody's going to be looking at me, other than any of the aforementioned beautiful women who I'm blessed to be intimate with, so I get over my shyness that way." "Yeah, but... I mean, you're my brother, Harry... I think that's gonna give me the heebie-jeebies." He looked at her incredulously. "Did you just say 'heebie-jeebies'? I haven't heard anyone use that term in years! Come to think of it, the last person I heard use it was you." "So sue me, Harry, you rat! I still use 'heebie-jeebies'. Get over it! Do you mean to tell me that having me there isn't going to give you pause about getting naked?" "Okay, it might... but as soon as someone distracts you, I'll probably not worry about it anymore and get comfortable. Really, Nicki, at the end of it all, that's what it's all about. Whatever you're comfortable with. If it turns out you're not comfortable with any of it, that'll be okay to, we'll bring any such party to a close and call it an early night." "But that would make me a 'guest', wouldn't it?" "Yeah, but if that's how you're comfortable, then there's nothing wrong with it. We have friends and acquaintances and associates that we'd no more get freaky around than we'd run down the street, naked and painted blue. Doesn't mean we think less of them, we just realize that not everyone is comfortable with our type of get-together. In fact, later this summer, after the pool and all that is finished, we'll be having two parties... one for the neighbors and our work associates, one for friends, family members and fellow freaks. It's my devout hope I can avoid having them on the same weekend." "Oh, but Harry, think about it... what a great weekend it would be!" "Yeah, think about it, I'd need a week off to recuperate!" The two siblings laughed their remarkably similar laughs together. * * * * * "So, you're really determined to do this?" Kelly asked, tears streaming down her face. Oil of Roses Ch. 23 "Baby, I have to, for me. I love you, hell, I love them too. I just can't live in a relationship like this right now. It's hurting you, it's hurting me... that'll just end up ripping us apart. This way, I have time to maybe wrap my head around everything, work something out. Maybe I find somebody who can love me as that one and only in their life. But I need the freedom to explore the options." "Okay. You know if you need anything, all you have to do is call, right?" "Of course I do... and you know the same?" "Yeah... yeah, I know. Lemme help you get this stuff down to your car. You can leave the rest of it here in storage until you get settled somewhere a bit more permanent than Quan's couch." The two young women trudged down the stairs with a sense of resigned finality. In spite of everything they'd said to each other, in both their minds they were very afraid this was a final good-bye, at least as far as their relationship was concerned. Margo and Carol stopped in mid-dance, watching the two of them as they crossed the living room. "You two need any help?" Carol asked. "No, we've got it," Jessica answered, "but hugs and kisses good-bye would be great." She could barely keep herself from dissolving into tears again. The four women moved out to Jessica's car and Margo and Carol watched as Kelly and Jess loaded it like they were marching to the guillotine immediately after they finished. After hugs and kisses were exchanged, Jessica looked at Margo. "Guess you didn't think this was how me 'thinking about it' would turn out," she said. "I was afraid there was a possibility of it turning out this way," Margo replied. "I just hoped it wouldn't." "Tell Harry and the rest of the gang I'll see 'em later," Jessica said and she slid into her car, started the engine and roared away, trying to avoid letting her friends and lover see her burst into sobs. She didn't succeed. Kelly stood, watching her go, Margo on one side of her, Carol on the other, taking comfort in their closeness. "Kelly, do you think she's doing what's right for her?" Carol asked. "Yeah, yeah I do... that's part of why it doesn't hurt as bad as it could, I think. It's not like she's making some big mistake. Don't get me wrong... I'd give anything... except what I can't give... to have her..." She broke down and buried her face in her hands. The two women helped their crying sister into the house. * * * * * "Sis, excuse me for a minute, I need to make a call." Harry got up and went outside, standing out of the way of traffic on the sidewalk and hit Eddy's number on speed dial. * * * * * Eddy lay on his back, his tiny and precious Theresa lying atop him. Their day had been a slow and languorous one, filled with making love, leisurely meals and much lounging about the apartment. "Have I told you lately that lovin' you beats the hell out of waking up hung-over next to the skank d'jour, wonderin' how much money I'd blown the night before?" he asked her, a great smile splitting his face. "No Edward, you haven't told me that lately... I think it's been several days since some version of that sentiment crossed your lips within my hearing." She stretched, using the extension of her arms as an excuse to caress his face and hair. "But I've never doubted it for a moment. You make me feel loved and special a thousand ways every single day." "Then I'm fallin' down on my gawddamn job... I should be making you feel that a million ways every day. I'm gonna have to work on that." "Sir, I think you're doing a superb job, far better than I ever dreamed possible, but if my Master wishes to shower yet more affection upon his most devoted servant, she will not argue with him, for that would be wrong of her." "Hey, I told you... I'm still not too comfortable with that kind of talk!" "I know, Edward. But you won't get more comfortable with it if we continue to avoid the issue, now will you?" "Hmmph... I suppose you're right... you have an annoying habit of being right, didja know that?" "Yes sir, you mention that 'annoying habit' of mine quite frequently. This would be the fourth time today." "Fifth, sweetie, you're forgetting when you where right about me havin' a tendency to hum "My Favorite Things" when I'm in the shower." "Yes sir, you're right, I had forgotten that. And it is quite charming." "Shaddup, you." "Yes sir, shutting up sir." "Gawd, it's been great to have such a quiet day!" Outside, in Eddy's truck, his cell phone rested where it had lain since slipping out of his pocket. It stopped ringing and tripped over to voice mail. * * * * * As Harry put his phone away, muttering in frustration, it rang. "Hello?" "Harry, are you two about finished at Baskin-Robbins?" "Yeah, why?" "Jessica's left. She and Kelly are supposedly going to keep on seeing each other, but I don't know how that's going to work out. Kelly's taking it better than I would've expected but still pretty hard. Carol's upstairs with her. I just wanted to find out when you'd be home and to let you have some warning what you'll be walking into." "Damn... okay my love, we'll be home in a bit. Need to get the ice cream to go... check and see what flavor Kelly wants. There's nothing for a breaking heart like ice cream." * * * * * "TELL HIM BANANA NUT, MARGO, AND TELL HIM THANKS... TELL HIM IF HE BRINGS HOME A GALLON OF BANANA NUT I'LL LOVE HIM FOREVER..." Kelly yelled, smiling through her tears, "not that I won't already, goddamn it." Carol looked at her friend carefully. "That's part of the problem, isn't it, my love?" "Yeah, but not totally the way you think... I love all of you. You're my family. I mean, yeah, a lot of my sexual focus may be Harry, but that's because I love dick, and he's got the only real one in the partnership." She smiled, a hint of her natural mischievousness showing through. "And some of my focus is on him as a friend, because I feel close to him, I can talk to him on that 'friend' level... don't think I've ever had a guy I could talk with that way before. But I love all of you. I'd be lost without you, or Margo, or Harry... lost in a way I'm not going to be without Jess. And that's the part of the problem that's messin' with me. "It's not that I want to be part of your little group thing, I don't... it's that, in my own mind, I'm already a part of something and it comes with a lot of connections and obligations and responsibilities and joys and privileges... and anyone coming into a relationship with me has to either fit into that pre-existing 'relationship'... or make do with the parts of my life that are left... and that ain't much. Maybe it isn't enough. "I don't think I'm going to stop finding other people interesting and desirable, I may... but if I don't, and if they want me, then they have to take all of you as well... and not just you three, but Eddy and Theresa, Karen and Patricia... all the rest. They'll have to come to terms with my sense of 'home' not being alone with them, but being in a group with all of you... that they're, like... add-ons. "That's not going to be easy on anyone. God knows it wasn't easy on Jess." Carol held her friend in her arms and looked into her eyes. "Don't you see yourself leaving us someday?" "No, you silly bitch! Oh, it may happen, I can't predict the future, but I'm 'home'... more 'home' than I've ever been anywhere else. I'm so very happy in this little community of freaks," she said, smiling, even though her pain was evident, "I can't conceive of ever wanting to leave." Carol kissed her, tenderly and deeply, then after their lips had parted, "We love you too, Kelly darling, all of us do." "I know... I just feel shitty that all this came to a head today... today was supposed to be about Nicki meeting all of us, a time for celebration and all that... now Jess is gone, I'm on a downer, the two of you are having to deal with my drama... it's a mess and I can't help but feel that it's all my fault." "Nonsense Kelly," Margo said from the door, "it's not your fault, it's more my fault than anyone's, and it's not really my fault either, nor is it Jess'. It's just life and the way it happens sometimes. "Harry is bringing you Banana Nut ice cream and you know we'll be here for you. You look beat, why don't you lie down and take a nap?" "Y'know, Big Mama, that don't sound like a bad idea at all... if I do drift off, do me a favor and wake me up for anything really interesting... otherwise, make my apologies to Harry and Nicki and tell them I'll see them when I wake up and have me some ice cream." She smiled. "Thank you both... more than I can say." "You're welcome dear. Now get some rest. We'll all be here when you wake up," Margo replied and she and Carol hugged and kissed their beloved friend and closed the door behind them. * * * * * "So we're agreed then?" Carol asked, looking at her Mistress. "We're agreed, and more than agreed," Margo replied. "And you get the unenviable task of broaching the subject with Harry." "Why me? I'd think you'd be the one, senior partner in the firm, 'wife' and all that!" "Dearest, we both know you're really the senior partner and I'm perfectly fine with that. But I am the 'wife' and Nicki and I are going to end up doing the dance of sisters around each other. While you talk to Harry about all Kelly is the perfect time for she and I to do that dance. The weather's been pleasant, I figure the two of you take a walk, or maybe a drive, this evening and discuss the idea. I'll reassure him you speak for me before y'all leave. Then Nicki and I will have a chance to get to know each other a little better." * * * * * Harry and Nicki were almost to the house when he lost sight of the blue van on the streets of his neighborhood. It was a dead certainty he wasn't being paranoid so he figured they knew where he lived and had broken off contact to avoid suspicion. Not their fault really that he was far past the point of suspicion already. "Well Nicki, I'm just sorry it won't quite be the celebration we were wanting it to be for you." "Well, I understand... shit happens, especially in relationships. I'm just sorry, what was her name, Jessica... Jessica left Kelly. From what you've told me, Kelly's a very special girl." "Yeah, yeah she is. She's become very important and precious to all of us." They pulled into the driveway of the house. Nicki looked at the house she'd grown up in; the house that held an untold number of happy memories for her, mixed with a hefty share of unhappy ones. She got out of the car, grabbing her bag and walked up to the porch. She turned and looked back at her brother. "It doesn't feel the same." "What do you mean, sis?" "When I was here for the wedding, even with you and the Skank That Shall Not Be Named having lived here for awhile... the house still felt sad, like it did when Mom was dying. Doesn't feel that way anymore, at least, not to me. Feels good, feels alive... feels happy." "My sister, the psychic... gonna set up a little booth at the next Psychic Fair, do some card readings, look at some tea leaves maybe?" "No, I'm gonna kick my asshole brother in the butt," she said as she began to chase him around the car. As the two siblings ran around in the driveway, Nicki trying to whack Harry with her bag, and damn near succeeding several times, Margo and Carol came out the front door unnoticed and watched from the porch. "My God, it's like they're twelve-year-olds," Carol murmured sotto voce. "Yeah... side of Harry we don't see too often. See that side of Eddy and Karen all the time, but not Harry," Margo replied, just as softly. "I think this visit will do them both a lot of good." Finally Nicki dropped to the ground and Harry, running blindly forward, came around the corner of the car in perfect position to be tripped by her and landed sprawled out on the grass. In a flash his sister was on top of him holding her bag in a threatening pose. "Okay, okay, I give... you win," Harry panted. "I bow to the superior sneaky bitch." "That's Ms. Sneaky Bitch to you, and don't you forget it," she said, grinning through her own labored breathing. "Well, think we ought to go in before your family starts to wonder what happened to us?" "Oh no, Nicki, we're already well aware of your successful effort to chastise my wayward husband. Brava to you!" exclaimed Margo as she walked down the steps and extended her hand. "Nicki, it's been since college, you're looking lovely." Nicki accepted the hand up from the ground. "Damn woman! Not as lovely as you... Harry, you done damn good." She dropped her bag, narrowly missing Harry, grinned back at him and hugged Margo. As she released her, Nicki looked around and saw Carol standing shyly at the foot of the steps. "And you must be Carol. I hope you'll give me a hug as well." The next half hour was spent in hugs, more hugs, getting Nicki and her bag in the house, established in her old bedroom, showered and back downstairs to visit. * * * * * Harry tried again to reach Eddy but only got voicemail. He wasn't sure why the van had been following him when in all likelihood Margo was the target, but if he couldn't get hold of Eddy before the next morning, he'd be keeping an eye on her himself. * * * * * It was only after drinks and an hour or so of conversation that Carol looked at Harry and said "C'mon my love, let's get out of here." "What? Why?" "Evidently," she replied, "there's some sort of 'sisters butt sniffing' these two need to do that we'd just be in the way of. Besides, you and I need to talk about something and it's a lovely night for a walk." "Okay," Harry said, looking at Margo, "if you're sure." "Yes Harry, I'm sure and so is she," Margo replied. She got up and hugged her husband. "What Carol is going to discuss with you has my full and enthusiastic 'yes' vote," she whispered in his ear. "And you're not going to give me the slightest hint or clue, are you?" he whispered back. "Nope," she replied, laughing. "Now the two of you get out of here! We'll see you in, what, an hour sound good to you, Nicki?" "Yeah, we should be done in an hour," Nicki replied, grinning. As soon as Harry and Carol were out the door, the Little Sister Inquisitorial Questioning began. * * * * * Harry was pleasantly buzzed from the drinks he'd had, was out walking through a warm but not unbearable Texas evening with one of the women he adored. Life, he thought to himself, didn't get too much better than that. "So, what is it you and Margo want to talk to me about?" he asked after they'd wandered a few blocks towards a park in the neighborhood. "She and I have been talking about Kelly... and about us... us as in, the three of us." "Okay, color me completely and utterly confused... interested, but confused." "Harry... we think Kelly wants to be a fourth member of this relationship. A member as much as I am, or Margo is, or you are." "C'mon, you two are imagining things... she proclaims her disinterest in that very situation every time the subject comes up." "The lady doth protest too much, methinks," Carol quipped, grinning up at him. "It's her constant and loud protestations that make us think she is interested, and she's desperately trying not to appear that way. She doesn't want Margo or I to get jealous and ruin what she does have of you." "Little Cunt, you know she loves all of us! Quit trying to make this all about me!" "Goddamn it, sir, are you always this dense? No, it isn't all about you, but you are the lynchpin of this situation. "Harry, I guaran-goddamn-tee you, it's not Margo or I that she's in love with... it's you." "She's not in love with me; she loves me, sure, just like she loves the two of you, but she's not in love with me." "I stand corrected, you really are that dense. Listen, Harry my love, do you trust my instincts?" "Implicitly, even when all evidence is to the contrary I trust your instincts." "Then trust me now. Kelly Culberson is in love with you... she has been for quite some time. She loves all three of us, fiercely... it grew in strength so subtly that I didn't even notice how strong it had gotten until recently... very recently in fact. But trust me, sir, she's in love with you. I know it as surely as I know anything." They had reached the park and Harry slumped down in a swing and began to swing himself back and forth, very slowly. He racked his brain for a solution that made everybody happy but nothing occurred to him. He couldn't see adding Kelly to their marriage... Margo still had some insecurity about their relationship. That worried him and besides, he was beginning to feel like the main character in some bad porn story as it was. Any more in his bed and he was afraid he'd start hearing the word 'harem' applied to the women and that was simply unacceptable. Carol sat in the swing next to him and started to say something, then thought better of it and let him sit with his thoughts for a time. Off in the distance cars drove by, the faint light of a street lamp in the park barely reached them. Instead of city sounds they were surrounded by the music of insects and the babbling of a small creek that ran through the park. Harry thought briefly of asking Kelly to leave but then realized that no matter what, none of them would want that. She was too dear to all of them. But she was already 'out', and he didn't see a way of bringing her 'in'... so what was left? Carol felt Harry's sadness and it confused her. Confused she remained, and silent, until finally he spoke. "I can't ask Kelly to leave. We promised her she could stay as long as she needed to. We can't be that cruel, especially with Jessica leaving her. I can't see the situation staying 'as is'... nobody's really comfortable with that, apparently. I've got no clue how to handle the situation." "Oh, my love, you've got it wrong. You're thinking Margo and I see this as a problem. We see it as an opportunity. We want the three of us, together, to propose to her, have her join us as a full member. At least, that's what Margo and I think should be done. I'm supposed to find out how you feel about the idea." The weight that had settled down upon Harry's heart and mind lifted and he felt a great beaming smile break out on his face. "I love Kelly dearly and while a goodly part of me still thinks you're crazier than a shithouse rat about her being in love with me-" And then he heard the twig snap behind them. He turned and saw no one, but his eye focused on a blue Econoline van parked away from the streetlights on the street behind them. He turned back around as if nothing were wrong. He had fucked up. He had assumed Margo was the target. He had assumed he and Carol were safe in their own neighborhood. He had relaxed his guard... and now he was going to have to pay for it. "Carol, honey, Baby Girl," he said in a low and even voice, "it is imperative that you listen to me and do exactly what I say. When I say 'now', I want you to run towards the streetlight, blowing your whistle as loud as you can. Do you have your cell phone with you?" "No sir, do you?" "No... alright, we're not that far from the house... run from light to light, blowing your whistle. If anyone comes out of their house, beg them to use their phone and call 911, if not, get home and call. We're about to get jumped... NOW!" As she bolted from the swing, running forward and low to the ground, grabbing for her whistle as she ran, Harry spun out of the swing and prepared to buy her time to get clear. He didn't know if their opponents were armed or if so, what they were armed with. The adrenaline hit his system like a jackhammer as he saw the two men running towards him at full speed and suddenly it seemed he had all the time in the world to study them. Late twenties, early thirties... hard men... street muscles... no masks, no pantyhose on their faces- that wasn't good at all... both Caucasian, both in jeans and work boots, one, a blond, in a red wife-beater, the other, black hair, Nine Inch Nails tour t-shirt... the blond carrying an aluminum baseball bat, the other a large combat knife, both weapons glinting faintly in what little direct light there was. Oil of Roses Ch. 23 He briefly thought about running but he still wasn't sure one or both of them didn't have a gun somewhere on him. As his right foot swept around in his spin, the poor light, the alcohol in his system and a furrow in the dirt conspired to catch the toe of his sneaker and he started to go down. Grabbing at the chain supporting the swing he managed to catch it, but realized his mistake as soon as he made it. His fall continued and his grip on the swing swung him around, spinning him on his left foot, dragging his treacherous right foot behind him and as the force of his fall wrenched his shoulder, he let go of the chain involuntarily, falling onto his back, his right leg at an angle beneath him. As he landed on it, the torque ripped through his knee, he heard an angry 'pop' and the pain began. He was on his back with little chance of getting to his feet and in a defensive position before they were on him. Years of not only whuppin' ass, but having his whupped as well came to his rescue and he began to curl into a ball on his right side, protecting himself as best he could. His attackers arrived and the bat sang its metal song against his left shoulder. The sharp sound that tore its way out of him came on the heels of the sound of something giving way in the shoulder, a crunching noise, wet and far too loud in Harry's ears. "- get her!" He opened his eyes to see one set of legs, within his reach, apparently preparing to go after Carol. He uncurled and his right arm shot out to grab the denim cuff of the attacker's jeans. His fingers clamped down and held on for his dearest' life. His left arm had tried to join the right, but the pain that attempt had birthed blinded him. A second strike from the bat came down, without as much force, on his partially extended left arm and merely added to the litany of pain. He jerked the jeans cuff hard and felt his victim falling forward. In the distance, he could hear Carol's whistle begin to blow. * * * * * It took all she had to follow his instructions. Her straight razor was at the house, but it didn't matter. She'd chew her fucking way to their hearts if they hurt Harry. Her feet wanted to turn and charge back... But he'd told her what he wanted her to do. It was imperative, he'd said. As she clawed at her shirt, trying to get the whistle out she cursed Harry Grimes for making her abandon him. Through the tears in her eyes she noted the intersection ahead of her, 45th and Garwood. The cops and the ambulance needed to go to the swings in the park at 45th & Garwood. The whistle on its chain free of her shirt at last, she stuck it in her mouth and blew as hard as she could with every exhalation of her lungs as she ran toward the light. * * * * * Harry drug himself towards the one he had a grip on and found a leg, swimming before his eyes... no, the leg wasn't swimming, his eyes... something was wrong with his eyes... it was unimportant. He bared his teeth and sunk them into whatever part of the leg was closest to him. A man started screaming, shrilly, almost like a little girl, as Harry's mouth filled with blood and he would've smiled if he didn't hurt so bad as he tightened his jaws all the more. The blow that connected with the back of his side was sharp and loud and the pain was so strong it overwhelmed him... ...still in his mouth, chewing on it... ...the crunching as something else broke in him... ...something cold... icy... in his lower back... "-ut his fuckin' thro-" ...another icy... thing... in his back... breathing was wet... "-don't hurt his face" ...everything was cold... so cold... ...a shock like a thunderbolt in his arm... The final slice across his throat was the last thing he felt. Oil of Roses Ch. 24 Many thanks to Literotica author ‘englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author ‘KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * If people on the street were turning on their lights Carol didn't see it. That would have meant turning her head, diverting her focus from home... home and her razor. She kept blowing the whistle. * * * * * Something was nagging at the back of Margo's consciousness... something she was hearing... something that meant... her eyes widened. "Nicki, stay here, something's wrong." She grabbed her purse with its mini-arsenal courtesy of Eddy and dashed out the door. As she made it down the steps and to the street, she saw Carol running towards her, blowing the bobby whistle. The small woman barreled past her and up the steps, barely getting the door open before she was through it. "Nicki... we were... attacked... call 911... cops and ambulance... the park... 45th & Garwood... the swings..." Margo had followed her in and heard her message. Carol ran for the bedroom. Nicki sprinted for the stairs, heading to her room and her cell phone. Carol came out, straight razor in hand and flew out the door. Margo was getting into her car. "C'mon, this'll be faster. And I've got an emergency kit in the back." Together they drove off towards the park. Somewhere in the high-speed drive to the park, a drive that felt endless, even compared to the run back to the house that Carol had despaired of ever completing, she felt Margo leave. One minute, her lover, Harry's wife was there, and then she wasn't. The person who replaced her was someone Carol had never seen before. "Carol, get me the kit from the back floorboards. Yes, that's the one. Just hold that on your lap until we get there." They were approaching the park and Carol saw this new person swerve, aiming not for a parking place, but for the heart of the park itself. "Hold on, this could get a little rough." With a thud that jarred her and tried to bounce her into the ceiling, a scraping sound that reverberated throughout the interior of the Volvo like a scream of pain and another, lesser, thud, the car was over the curb and into the park itself. "Carol, where are the swings?" "Uh, to the left... there, past that water fountain, see them?" "Thank you. Go into my purse; get out the stun gun or the pepper spray, whichever you feel comfortable with." Whoever this new person was, she was smart enough to know that one of Carol's hands would be busy with her razor. She pulled out the stun gun, putting the strap around her left wrist. The car's lights were flipped to high beams as they approached and the brakes were gently applied. In the illumination provided, there was only one figure, slumped in a heap on the ground beneath the swing. The car came to a sudden stop and as this new and unknown person leapt out with the kit she grabbed from Carol's lap she said "Cover me." Carol took a look at the figure on the ground. There was far too much blood. There seemed to be gallons of it. He was soaked in it, and as she felt the panic start to rise in her chest, she forced it back down and looked in every direction but at him, looking for any threat. Finally she looked briefly over at her Master and Mistress, bathed in the harsh light from the car, both now covered in red. "Carol," the stranger said, "it looks like whoever did this is gone. Nicki and Kelly will be here shortly. Keep them away from here. They don't need to see this and we don't want the crime scene contaminated any further." "Ma'am... is he..." "He's alive... I'm hoping I can keep him that way." * * * * * The next several hours passed in a blur. Nicki and Kelly got to the park and she was forced to hold both of them back. The police arrived, the EMT's pulled up and everyone was in a blur of motion except for them. They stood there, dazed and helpless at the periphery and watched the maelstrom. There was nothing for them to do. They were bystanders. The ride to the hospital was an absent memory, a hole in time. Carol remembered being in the park, and then she was in the waiting room, holding on to Nicki and Kelly. Carol knew she talked to people... made phone calls, spoke to the police, gave a statement... but she couldn't remember anything concerning details. The stranger who had replaced Margo had disappeared, along with her beloved Harry, and Carol found herself left in the position of dealing with everyone and their questions and she didn't have any answers other than the obvious. No one had shown up to tell her that Harry was dead. Therefore he was alive. She held on to that as a life-preserver in a storm-tossed sea. Nicki appeared... lost... as if she'd been deprived of something vital that somehow defined her place in the universe. Kelly slumped beside her, despair and pain crashing off of her in waves. It was as if Kelly was already grieving for him, as if he were already dead. Karen and Patricia arrived. Karen looked as if she were some ancient Goddess of War, preparing to unleash her fury upon the world. Patricia appeared to have been crying, and as soon as she had spoken with everyone there, she went to the hospital chapel. Despite the voice mails she'd left on Eddy's phone, there was no sign of him and Tamara. All anyone would tell her was that Harry was still in surgery. * * * * * The news crews and newspaper reporters showed up at some point in the early morning hours and Karen ran interference, making a brief statement, with Carol's approval, that Harry was still in surgery and that none of them had the slightest idea what had prompted the brutal attack in the park. She refused to let anyone speak to Carol, for which Carol vowed to love her forever. Several of the media vultures thought about trying to get past Karen but one glare from her seemed to convince them that it wasn't worth it to try. Karen had actually smiled when relaying that part of the story. And still there was no word from or sign of Eddy. * * * * * By around 4:30 in the morning Karen had had enough. "Kelly," she said, to no response from the nearly catatonic girl. "Kelly," she said again, a little more forcefully, bringing Kelly's face up to hers. Kelly looked back at her with eyes red and swollen. "You've been to Eddy's new place, right?" "Yeah, took Tamara there to pick up their clothes." "Can you find it again?" "Yeah, I'm a delivery driver... it's what I do." "Come on, I'm driving, we're gonna go find him. This is goddamn ridiculous." "Karen?" Carol said. "Yes sweetie, what is it?" "Please don't let him do anything stupid." Karen nodded grimly and then Carol watched her and Kelly leave as if from a great distance. She was simply glad someone else had made a decision about something. * * * * * At some point the media must have made another stab at talking to her because she heard Patricia say "I told them I didn't care if their bosses wanted a statement from the other person involved, they weren't going to get anywhere near you." Carol looked around the waiting room. They were far from the only inhabitants. It was like all of them were floating in a small bubble of suffering, dread and frustration. Hospital security might be keeping them safe from outside interference or bother, but the only way it could be done was by locking them inside a private hell. Good news rarely happened in the waiting room itself. Good news happened with family and friends gathered round the patient. Good news happened where recovered patients were wheeled out to their rides. Here there was little but the agonizing ‘not knowing'. As she watched, an elderly Indian or Pakistani couple stood up as they were approached by a doctor, who then spoke with them in low tones, a look of commiseration plain upon his face. Carol saw a couple's lives forever altered... maybe destroyed. The woman just collapsed in upon herself, like a building that had been gutted by fire and was finally falling down. The man fared a little better. He recoiled as if struck some great blow in the face, staggered back a bit and then found his footing again, still standing even if on legs no longer anywhere near as steady as they'd been before. As the woman began to wail, softly, as if afraid to disturb anyone with her grief, he bent and helped her back up into her seat, where he wrapped his arms around her and held her so tightly Carol was afraid one or the other of them would break. That was what happened in waiting rooms. Carol felt overwhelmed by a growing certitude that soon she too would be one of those two archetypes of suffering, the person felled by tragedy or the one left to hold things together no matter how much they wanted to die. All she had to hold onto was that no one had come to tell her he was dead. * * * * * "Yes, buzz Mr. Janak's apartment. I know it's late, it's an emergency. Tell him Karen Pinard needs to speak with him and it's urgent." Faced with a determined Karen, the rent-a-cop in the tiny guard shack made the call, more out of fear than any sense of duty. Within minutes the gate was rolling back for her and Kelly. As they parked and got out they saw Eddy and Tamara standing in their apartment door in their bathrobes. "What? What's happened?" Eddy asked sleepily. "Why haven't you answered your phone or returned any of our calls?" Karen replied, heading for him angrily. "The phone ain't rung." "You turned it off" "Bullshit, I never turn it off. I can't because of work." "Well find it and find out what the fuck's wrong with it, we've been calling you all night. Harry and Carol got jumped tonight. Harry's in the hospital, still in surgery when we left there. Carol wasn't hurt because he made her run for help." A tremor of pain washed down Eddy ‘s features. Tamara clutched his arm, afraid of where this news would lead him. "I'll go check the bowl on the table, that's where he always puts everything from his pockets." A moment later from the kitchen, "Not here." The next five minutes were a mad search for Eddy's phone until finally he stalked in from the parking lot with it in his hand. "It must've slipped out of my pocket on the way home. I didn't notice. Damn thing was sittin' on the seat of the truck." He stomped back into the bedroom and came out dressed a few moments later. He dialed a number on his phone and put it to his ear. "Carlos? Yeah I know what gawddamn time it is... I don't give a goody gawddamn. I need the residential address of a Dr. Benjamin Sapperstein. No, I need it right now, I'll wait." "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Karen asked. Eddy looked at her, incredulous. "What the hell do you think I'm doing? I'm gonna go kill the little rat turd right gawddamn now." Tamara and Kelly said "NO" simultaneously as Karen shook her head. "I can't let you do that, Eddy." "Give me one gawddamn good reason why not? Yeah, I'm still here waitin', Carlos, come on, I ain't got all fuckin' night." "I'll give you three. One, we're not sure it was him. I agree," she said, forestalling the cry of ‘Bullshit' she could see rising in his throat, "that it's probably him, but we're not absolutely sure and if you go killing him without a plan tonight, you'll probably get caught and it'd fucking suck to watch you get that final injection. Two, if it was him, he probably already knows what went down tonight and he might be expecting something to happen. Anybody who watches this group for long, or does their research, wouldn't have a hard time predicting certain responses, like you charging off like a berserk Viking. Three, Carol asked me to not let you do anything stupid and rushing off to kill him tonight, no matter what else it may be, certainly qualifies as ‘stupid'." "Sorry Dyke, checked my ‘give-a-shit' meter. Didn't even fuckin' twitch. Cocksucker is goin' to meet God tonight." "You're gonna have to go through me to do it," Karen said, taking a stance and preparing to try and stop the big man. "And you're going to have to go through me to get to her," Kelly said, tears rolling down her face, moving into position in front of Karen. "And through me to get to Kelly," Tamara said, her small form slipping in-between Eddy and Kelly. "Please sir, don't do this. I can only begin to understand how you feel right now, but storming off and doing something rash won't wash your guilt away. It won't change what's already happened tonight." "Eddy, think," Kelly said, "I'm not saying you don't owe Harry your loyalty and that you don't have the right to end the bastard, if he's the one responsible, but you can't be dumb about it. You've got Tamara now, someone has to take care of her, and you can't afford any kamikaze acts of vengeance." "You're sure that's the address, Carlos? Okay, I got it." Eddy shut off his phone. He wiped his hand across his face. "Then what the fuck do you expect me to do?" The tears began to run down his cheeks. "What the fuck am I supposed to do?" The big man fell to his knees and brought his hands down on the floor of the apartment so hard that it could be felt through the concrete slab and they all heard the bones in his hands grinding together. "Don't you understand? Somebody's got to do somethin'! I've got to do somethin'!" Karen came around, squatted down and took him by the hand. "You do just what the rest of us are doing. You come to the hospital and pray like a motherfucker. And if it turns out that something needs doing, you and I will go do it together, carefully, with a plan, doing our best to make sure our loved ones don't lose us." * * * * * As Karen drove back to the hospital, Eddy listened to his voice mail, to the messages his best friend had left him, shame eating his soul with every word. A thousand times he'd picked up the phone for nothing more important than casual conversation. Now, when lives were on the line... he listened to voice mail. Tamara sat beside him, feeling the tension in his body ratchet up as he listened to Harry's messages. She'd never seen her man in so much pain before, not even in the throes of his nightmares. * * * * * In the distance, a million miles away, she heard Eddy's voice. "Carol, I'm so sorry, the cell phone got left in the car... he left me a message... said he was bein' followed..." Then Tamara was there, holding her, and Karen was there telling her that she'd take care of everything for awhile, that Carol should just try to rest and that Tammy was going to take care of her. She watched Karen take a sobbing, broken Eddy over to one of the unoccupied couches and hold him, trying to comfort the friend and guardian that had, through no fault of his own, not been there when he was needed. Carol knew it wasn't Eddy's fault. She knew it was hers. If she'd had her phone, if she'd had her razor... the fault was hers. * * * * * It was 6:12 AM when the stranger who wore Margo's skin came into the waiting room, her face a picture of fatigue, moving as if sheathed in lead. She had taken barely five steps when Karen was up and helping her to a chair. Carol found herself sitting beside her without remembering moving. "Unless any other surprises pop up, he should live-" A chorus of sighs exhaled around her. "But he's not out of the woods yet. I'll leave out the medical jargon," she said, something that might once have thought about being a smile crossing her face. "We debated removing his lacerated... fuck, it was shredded... kidney. We think it'll heal, we hope it'll heal... if it doesn't, we'll have to go back in and take it. Multiple stab wounds, they tried to slash his throat, missed the carotid and the jugular, thank God, sloppy of them really, must've been in a hurry. Nothing else terribly serious hit besides the kidney and his lung, the lung should be okay now. It's just that he was stabbed so brutally, big knife." "We spent a long time just finding all the places he was leaking inside. Lots of blood loss, lots of blood pumped back in. He kept trying to die on us... four resuscitations in one surgery is four too many... it's just that he was bleeding from so many places internally. It's a goddamn miracle he stayed alive till we got to him in the park... only a slightly lesser one that he lived till the EMT's got there." "C'mon Margo," Eddy said, his voice broken and teary, "you oughta know by now, Harry's like me, he's a cockroach... he's fuckin' near impossible to kill." "Thank God he is, Eddy. "Broken collarbone, broken arm in two places, cracked and broken ribs, broken leg in three places, a right knee that's just all fucked up... that's waiting for an orthopedic surgeon. I'm afraid he's going to be here awhile, even if everything goes well from here on out. "We know he bit one of his attackers because when I got to him he still had a chunk of tissue in his mouth... police have hopes that the DNA will match someone in their data base. "He's still in ICU, but provided his body behaves and doesn't try anything nasty, they'll be moving him to a room later today. "Eddy, I've already insured that the people handling his care are all people I trust implicitly. I don't think any of the hospital staff could be suborned into making a ‘mistake' but I'd rather not run that risk. I'd like you to make sure there's someone watching him all the time, unless one of us is there with him, and then I want them outside his door." "So you're thinkin' what I'm thinkin'... that this is your douche-bag husband's doing?" Eddy said, his face clouding with rage. "Well, the motive wasn't robbery, and you don't ever see that kind of violence in our neighborhood just for the hell of it, so yeah, I'm thinking it could be." "Well, you ain't heard all the gawddamn news. Harry spotted somebody followin' him, bringin' Short Stuff here" he ruffled Nicki's hair, "home from the airport. He tried to get in touch with me" the big man visibly swallowed back tears, "but I'd accidentally left my cell in the truck. So if you add in someone followin' him, I'm almost dead certain it was him." Eddy leaned in close to Margo his voice a whisper. "Lemme get hold of Perry and Bevy, get them on their way over here, and I'm'a gonna go kill the sumbitch." Margo moved her head close to Eddy's. "Eddy, you're going to do no such thing," Margo replied, her voice low, icy and hard. He looked at her, his own barely repressed fury animating his features. Oil of Roses Ch. 24 "Without talking to the men who attacked Harry, we can't be sure. You're not going to go kill someone if we're not sure. And I wouldn't want you doing it, even then. If something happened and you ended up in jail, or God forbid, on death row... I couldn't live with that, and Harry couldn't either." "I've heard that argument once already tonight and besides, you didn't get that picky when we was roughin' up Rick!" "Because ‘roughing up' isn't killing him and even if it was, there's a hell of a lot of difference in the amount of attention paid to the murder of a dirtbag drug dealer versus a well-known cardiologist! Face it, Eddy! The cops take an interest when rich white men die! Especially if his mother, Nelda, starts banging the war drums over the demise of her precious and perfect little Benjie! "Trust me, please... I have a plan, alright? Please, Eddy, just trust me. You sit tight." The two of them sat, nose to nose, glaring at each other. Their fierce conversation had been barely audible to anyone other than those immediately surrounding them. Eddy leaned back. "Alright, I'll be patient. But I won't be patient forever." "I'm not asking for forever, Eddy... just a couple of days." And then the stranger, calm and cool, that had replaced the woman they all knew departed and all that was left was an exhausted woman who'd almost lost her beloved. The shaking started in her hands and soon encompassed her whole frame. As she allowed herself to be held by family and friends she kept murmuring through tears "there was so much blood". * * * * * As the newspaper and local morning news programs ran with the story of the successful local businessman brutally beaten and stabbed in a neighborhood park late the previous evening, people started arriving. Tatiana was the first, showing up straight from a night in her workshop, singed and bedraggled and carrying a large wicker basket. "I didn't know how many of us there would be, but I brought coffee from Constantine's. It's a little Greek bakery near my place... coffee to kill close relatives for," she said as she opened the wicker basket and started distributing cups and pulling out thermoses. "And if we run out, I'll send someone for more." Anna Pessino and her entire family arrived with food and hugs and tears and support and prayers of thanks when they heard that Harry should pull through. Margo took a suite of rooms at a nearby hotel that did a lot of business with families who wished to stay close to relatives in the hospital. She left word with the hospital receptionists that anyone and any calls for them were to be directed to their suite and the whole party made their way over to the hotel. The team that was handling Harry's care had her utmost confidence and she knew the last thing she needed to do was be standing behind them, second-guessing them every step of the way. It was hard, but after the surgery she had opted out of treating him. They had her cell number and the best way to make sure she stayed out of their hair was to stay away from the hospital, at least until he was out of ICU and into a private room. Leaving Eddy and Tamara, who'd had more sleep than the rest of the family, in the sitting room to handle things, Margo, Carol, Kelly and Nicki crashed on the bed and were out within minutes. Shortly after a rollaway bed was brought up by housekeeping, Karen and Patricia joined them in slumber. Tatiana, assuring them that if she could sleep through Peter's petulant slamming about the house she could sleep through anything crashed out on the couch in the sitting room and shortly thereafter proceeded to entertain everyone still conscious with a virtuoso snoring performance. The Pessino family, after being reassured for the umpteenth time that should anything change, or should the family need anything, they'd call them, left, leaving behind enough food to feed a regiment. "Sir, are you going to stop blaming yourself for this any time soon, or should I go wake up Margo and have her hurt you severely?" Tamara asked Eddy as they sat, absent-mindedly munching on some pork empanadas. The man who gazed back into her eyes did so through a countenance of broken glass. "I fucked up, Theresa... I fucked up and Harry fuckin' near died." "Yes, Edward, you fucked up. I fucked up. So did Carol... she blames herself for this, not you, I know, she told me so. I'm sure Margo and Kelly are finding ways to blame themselves for it as well. And we both know Harry will be blaming himself for it when he regains consciousness. It was none of our faults, in truth, but rather the fault of the men who did this, but we both know we're all going to take our turns beating ourselves up over it. "But Edward, trust me... your turn is over. Now you need to think how best to make sure nobody finishes the job that was started on Harry. You've got Perry and Bevy watching him in shifts, Margo's got only people she trusts seeing to his medical care, as she strongly suspects her husband is behind it. But who's watching Margo, who's watching Carol? Who's watching Karen and Patricia, you and I?" "Yeah... yeah, you're right..." he said thoughtfully, "it's kinda fuckin' obvious Margo wasn't the direct target... Carol and Harry were. Makes sense in a twisted-fuck kinda thinkin'. Best way to hurt her is to take them away from her. Whether or not we're in danger, or Karen and Patricia are, or whether he'll now get pissy and turn his sights on Margo, depends on just how squirrelly he is... is he going to continue to push this? Lash out at anyone close to them that he can get to? Or is he a little cooler and calmer than that, gonna lay low and let things chill for awhile?" "That's good Edward, you should be thinking about that instead of hurting yourself because you failed. You and I both know, even if it was your fault, and your fault alone, Harry would forgive you. Now, what can we do to keep everybody safe?" The two of them sat with their heads together, talking for a long time. * * * * * The employees of Grimes & Pinard started showing up, some with flowers, some with donuts or croissants, some just with best wishes and moral support. They assured Eddy and Tamara that whatever Margo and Carol needed, they had only to call. Over the course of the afternoon every single employee of the firm showed up, with the exception of Rhonda, the receptionist, who sent her best wishes and a fruit basket and said she'd be by as soon as she could but that she figured there ought to be somebody constantly at the office, no matter what. Through it all, Tatiana snored away on the couch, and the rest of the family slept in the bedroom. Where dreams might normally have visited them, the stress of the night before had so exhausted them all as to render their sleep peaceful, deep and undisturbed. * * * * * By 6 PM everyone was awake and feeling somewhat better. Margo had called the hospital and found out that Harry was still in ICU. Evidently he'd started bleeding internally again so they'd opened him back up and found three places that needed repairing. He was still unconscious. As they all sat around, nibbling on the bounty that had been left by well-wishers, there was a knock on the suite door. When Eddy answered it, a large man in a suit moved through the door like he owned the room, scanned the room and its occupants and then stuck his head out the door. "Looks to be clear inside, sir." Then he moved out of the door and Nick Philouma came in. "Margo, I heard about Harry. If there's anything I can do, please don't hesitate to let me know," Nick said as he hugged her before turning to hug Carol. "Actually Niccolo, there is something you can do," she said in a voice so cold it cut straight to his bones. "When you're through greeting Carol, the two of you come to the bedroom." A few moments later they joined her, Carol closing the door behind them. "Are you a fair and just man, Niccolo?" "I'd like to think I am. I know that there are situations in which I'd have more problems than I would in others, maintaining a fair and just outlook, but overall, I'd say I am." "Then what you can do for me is grant me justice. Find the men who hurt my husband. Find out why they did it. And give me justice." He went over and sat down next to her, taking her hands in his. "Margo, this whole ordeal has been a nightmare for you that I can't begin to imagine. You're not thinking clearly and in my opinion you've watched ‘The Godfather' one too many times. The police have taken Carol's statement; they've got another witness who gave them a description of the van. Soon they'll be able to talk to Harry, get his statement. They'll get these guys, the legal system will do its job... hell, I'll bet you, what, five grand, here and now, that Harry'll be up and about in the short time it'll take them to find these shits and he'll be testifying at their trial. They'll go away for a long stretch." "No, Niccolo, the police won't find them. You know, probably better than anyone in this room, what percentage of crimes goes unsolved. And the longer they go unsolved the lower their priority becomes. The police aren't going to catch them and even if they did, I can almost certainly guarantee you that they'd be represented by a very good attorney who just happened to take an interest in their case for reasons unknown. On the flip side, it doesn't look like this will be a murder case so the prosecution would probably be handled by a junior District Attorney whose lack of enthusiasm would only be matched by his lack of experience. The system would not work. "Give me justice. You asked me to let you know if there was anything you could do... give me justice." "Alright, since you're determined to replay this movie scene, you don't want justice, you want revenge." "No, Niccolo, that's where you're wrong. I want justice. "You have the resources to find them. Without the law shackling your every move, you have the ability to get at the truth. No forced confessions, no leading questions... the truth. "Then you follow the truth where it leads you. I suspect it will lead you to my estranged husband, Benjamin Sapperstein. But I don't know that for a certainty. If the truth doesn't lead you to him, I'll be surprised, but not upset. I don't want to believe anyone I know would be capable of arranging this. "But at every turn, I want you to follow the truth and let it guide you. Then let your sense of fairness and justice steer your actions once all is revealed. You dispense justice as you see fit. "Then you come tell me everything... every little detail. I'm placing this in your hands, but I'm not washing my hands of the responsibility. You will tell me, and only me." "No ma'am he will not!" Carol exclaimed. "He'll tell both of us! Don't you dare be thinking this is your affair alone!" Margo looked at her and smiled a sad smile. "Are you sure, little one?" "Damn skippy, I'm sure. I have every bit as much invested in this as you do, perhaps even a bit more as I was supposed to be part two of the double bill. And more than that, you're not going to bear this alone. We'll bear it together, whatever it ends up being." Carol went and hugged Margo wrapping her arms around her and bringing Margo's head to her breast. "You're not going to be alone in this, Madam. I won't let you be." Finally Margo's iron resolve broke and her face crumpled as she burst into tears, sobbing into her pet's chest. Nick stood up and looked at the two of them, waiting patiently until Margo calmed somewhat. "Are both of you sure this is what you want?" he asked. The two women looked at him, teary-eyed but with no reservations behind the tears. They nodded. "Then it'll be done. I'll let you know the minute I know anything... I'll keep you in the loop. "But there is something else I feel I should point out. You and members of your family already know far more about my family and my family's business than could be considered strictly healthy. I'm pretty sure you've already attracted some government attention. I know we've tried to minimize how public our meetings are, but there's no way to be sure how successful we've been. And now you ask me to do this. I can look at it one way; you're giving me something on you and yours, something that I can hold over you to insure your silence. Or I can look at as you getting me to do your dirty work leaving you with plausible deniability and something to sell the Feds should you ever need a ‘Get Out of Jail Free' card. "Don't get me wrong, please... I'm very fond of you, all of you. But this is my family we're talking about. Please don't ever doubt I'll do whatever is required to keep my family and its business safe." Margo gazed into his eyes as he gazed into hers. Her tears had dried and her face had settled into calm planes and angles. She was a figure carved from the deepest strata of glacial ice, hard and impenetrable, cold and immovable. "In short, Niccolo, you'll do exactly what I'm doing now. I understand your position completely and I have no problem with your need to protect yourself and your family and their interests, just as I hope you have no problem with my need to do the same." Nick whistled, a low whistle of wonder. "Just out of idle curiosity, should the investigation lead where you expect it to, if I felt it necessary, for my own protection, to have you more intimately involved in the dispensation of the justice you've asked for... would that bother you? Would you do what needed to be done?" Margo didn't even blink. "Niccolo, if what I suspect is true, my soon-to-be-ex-husband ordered the two most precious people in the world to me killed, brutally and painfully. Do you think I'd have any problem, no matter what you asked of me?" "Remind me not to get on your bad side, Margo. Now then, for me to get started, I need to know anything and everything the police know and it would be nice if I knew some things they don't as well. Margo and Carol filled him in, Margo providing him with the information that one of the men was wounded courtesy of Harry's bite, and he went out into the hall and made a few phone calls. When he returned, he looked at the two women expectantly. "Alright, that's done. Enough talk of such things. "Now then, I know neither of you probably feels like it, but I'm taking us all out to dinner, someplace nice and quiet and discrete. All of you need to eat and you also need to get out of here for awhile and it'll be my pleasure to facilitate both. Let's go round up the rest of the crowd and get out of here." Margo looked at Nick. "Niccolo, how discrete can a public restaurant be?" "Very discrete," Nick replied, "if your family indirectly owns it." * * * * * Nick had reserved a private room at Muldoon's, a steakhouse not too far from the hotel. They'd gone in through a side entrance and never saw the inside of the restaurant proper. "Just a little service we provide for celebrities... and family friends who don't need to be seen with us," Nick quipped. The dinner, while excellent, was extremely subdued, especially by the family's standards. It seemed everyone, with the exception of Nick, was simply too worried and too worn out to carry on any degree of conversation and although he tried valiantly, he was forced to give up after awhile. "Nick, I'm sorry," Carol said, smiling at him across the table. "You're being an excellent host, but I'm afraid we're all lousy company right now. Too much stress and not enough rest. I'm sure you know how it goes." "I know," Nick replied. "When my mother was in and out of the hospital for years, I thought I got used to being somewhere sort of like where you are... but you never really get used to it... the ambulance would be called in the middle of the night and I'd think ‘here we go again' and by the time I got to the hospital it was like the first time all over again." "What was her medical problem, if you don't mind me asking?" said Kelly, not catching Tatiana's subtle ‘no' signals. "Suicide attempts," Nick replied, a fake and plastic smile on his face. "But since the wife of Big Vic Philouma, and a good Catholic girl to boot, would never attempt suicide, it was a series of very unfortunate accidents." "Oh God, Nick, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Kelly began. "Kelly, really, it's alright... it's years in the past, all the wounds are good and scarred over... she had a penchant for ‘accidentally' taking too many sleeping pills... she had a gift for slipping and cutting herself with sharp objects, especially on the wrists... hell, I'm sure if she hadn't been so afraid of heights she would've developed a habit of mysteriously getting her neck caught in high-up, noose-like, bundles of cloth and rope. After her third major auto accident Big Vic wouldn't let her drive herself anywhere anymore. The cook was forbidden to let her in the kitchen, locks were put on the doors and Mother never got a key. Big Vic hired her a companion... young woman who was with her constantly, Maria Tunasia. All that did was slow her down a bit." "My God," Karen exclaimed, "did anyone ever know why she started, why she kept trying?" "Oh yes," Nick replied, "there was never any mystery about that. "My father's a traditionalist about many things, including a man's duty to his wife and children. He also subscribed to the view that a man could have as many mistresses as he wanted, so long as he wasn't neglecting his family. However, women are not afforded the same privilege. "Mother had been raised with a very lenient, contemporary... hell, in some ways, modern, set of values. She hated the narrow confines of her role as Big Vic Philouma's wife... loved Phil, Paula, Rosie and I... just hated damn near everything else. She found a guy, nice guy from what I remember, a nightclub singer... what was his name?" "Joey Pasone... his name was Joey Pasone," Tatiana interjected. "Tony and I used to go listen to him... he had talent, coulda been somebody." "Yeah, Joey Pasone... well, she ‘hired' him to give us all singing lessons but he was spending most of the time he was at the house with her. I think maybe Big Vic would've been happy to turn a blind eye, because I'm sure he knew, and they were being discrete, no one could point any fingers and say anything, but the radio was playing at family get-together one evening, Joey had a single out, local stations were playing it and Phil pipes up with ‘Hey, that's the guy that's banging Mama!' right in front of God and everybody. "Well, no way Big Vic could ignore it anymore. So the next night he took Mama down to an old meat-packing plant on 8th Avenue, by the rail yards, sat her down, had the lights brought up and there was Joey Pasone, hanging by a leather strap from a meat hook. Big Vic blew his brains out while Mama watched, walked over to her and said "you killed him the first time you fucked him... ever since then you been fucking a corpse" and had her taken home." "She told you this?" Margo asked incredulously. "Yeah, years later, towards the end, when she thought I was old enough to understand. I asked Big Vic about it later, after she died. All he said was ‘your Mama was many things but she was never a liar'. "That's when she started trying to kill herself. That's when we all got used to trips to the hospital at all hours, the whole bunch of us, all the kids shuffled off to the chapel to pray for Mama's recovery. That went on for the next ten years. "I used to think my father didn't love her... come to think of it, I used to think my father didn't love anybody, but I thought he didn't love her right up until the night she died. He sent Maria to her room, leaving Mama awake. Mama came in and told us all good night, said she was going to take a bath. Rosie went to the back of the house for something, can't remember what... but she came back yelling that the kitchen was unlocked and one of the knives was missing. Oil of Roses Ch. 24 "That was cause for a red alert at our house, things like that had happened before when Mama had jimmied the lock or gotten in some other way, but all my father did was grab Rosie, pull her into his lap and hold her, her face against his chest while he told her to hush, tears rolling down his face like rivers. "I'd never seen my father cry before and I've never seen it since. "So we all sat there and watched my father cry for what seemed like hours. Finally he got up, told us to stay exactly where we were, in that ‘Big Vic voice' that can stop a charging rhino, and went upstairs. He had us trained so well that when we heard the crash of glass, we didn't move. He came back down with the knife, called the ambulance. "The official cause of death was ‘death by misadventure'... she'd been taking a shower and had fallen into the shower door, broken the glass and slashed both her wrists from the wrists themselves damn near to her inner elbows. It was a very common accident for my mother. Big Vic told the Catholic priest, and then the local bishop, that accidents happened all the time, and unless she received a Christian burial under the auspices of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, a few more might occur. "So she was buried with the blessings of the Church." "Holy shit," Eddy muttered, "you hold a grudge against your old man for all that?" "Not anymore," Nick replied, "it was all over and done with a long time ago, none of it can be changed... none of it can be fixed. If there's a God, he'll deal with my father, just as He's dealt with my mother. And if there is no God..." Margo got up and went behind Nick, hugging him. "I'm sure there is, Nick, and I'm sure It's dealt fairly with your mother and will deal as fairly with your father." She turned his head to face her and patted his cheek. "You're a good man, Nick Philouma.," she said, then gave him a peck on the cheek and went back to her chair. As everyone at the table expressed their feelings of sympathy, Nick said, under his breath and so softly that no one heard, "If only that were true." * * * * * At one point in the evening, while Eddy was in the restroom, Nick got a phone call and took it outside the private room, out of earshot of the rest of them. When he returned he explained it as ‘Family business'. Eddy came back from the restroom a few minutes later. * * * * * The after-effect of Nick's story was that it seemed to lance a great hidden wound that no one had wanted to acknowledge. It had been as though everyone had been unwilling to talk about what they were feeling for fear that voicing those emotions might invite further catastrophe. The friends and family sat around the table for hours, talking about hard times and bad times, sharing their stories and their strength, one with another. There were tears, many of them... not the first nor the last that would be shed in their present circumstances, but there was laughter as well, the healing laughter of relief as they helped to wash the wounds their fears had left on them, cleaning them and binding them in the knowledge that none of them were going to face this alone, no matter what the outcome. In fact, the only one of the family who was alone was Harry himself. * * * * * Somewhere inside, a million dreams away from the hiss and beeps of the machines that monitored his condition, Harry drifted free on the swells of an infinite subconscious sea, right on the edge of what he knew but didn't know... what he thought he knew but deep within knew differently. He kept trying to fly up towards wakefulness, but the harder he struggled the harder it became. So at last he just quit trying and floated there, alone with himself. Outside of Harry, the doctors kept up the fight to keep him sedated so that he wouldn't feel the pain and thrash about, undoing their efforts to keep him alive. * * * * * After dinner Nick escorted them as everyone caravanned to their respective homes and picked up clothes and toiletries before returning back to the hotel. Margo had called and reserved a second room. It had been agreed at supper that no one was be alone until the situation had been resolved. The next day Karen would be returning to work, as would Margo. Eddy, and his team, continued to use accumulated vacation time. "Yeah, it kinda blows when you love your work as much as we do," he'd quipped. "Ass-rape some company's security set-up, leave it screamin' like the littlest monkey, go home, have a couple of beers, start workin' on the next target. Who needs a break from that shit?" Tatiana had, without telling anyone, decided she'd be playing den-mother for awhile. She liked these people a lot and they could use someone like her. She booked her own room at the hotel and called Peter, telling him he could either deal or move out, she really didn't give a fuck which. Nicki opted to take the couch, leaving Kelly the rollaway bed, which they'd moved to the sitting room. Eddy and Tamara and Karen and Patricia were taking the other hotel room. Margo and Carol settled their luggage into the bedroom. Nick said his goodnight's and left as he had arrived, as covertly as possible. As the two women prepared for bed Carol once again slipped into a deep melancholy, one that Margo couldn't fail to notice. "Precious, what's wrong?" "Madam, no matter how many ways I tell myself differently, no matter how many times all of you tell me... it's my fault he's hurt. If I'd had my razor or even my cell phone..." "Precious, stop that, don't think that way-" "But you don't understand, Madam, I failed! I failed him, I failed you, I failed myself! How can I ever look any of you in the eyes again?" Her body started to shake with sobs. "After all he's done for me, the one time he needed me to have my shit together and all I could do was run-" "That's quite enough of that, Little Cunt!" "-run and blow that stupid goddamn whistle! He could've died-" Margo grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently. As Carol continued to try to take the blame for what happened Margo continued to shake her until Carol finally quieted and Margo released her. Carol hit the floor and went into a kneeling posture of submission. Margo squatted beside her and gently raised her face until they were eye to eye. "Do I have your full and undivided attention now?" "Yes Madam." "You saved your Master's life. You need to stop listening to those voices in your head that want you to take the blame for this and listen to me, listen to me very carefully. "If you'd had a cell phone, you might've stopped running and tried to use it too soon. They may have had guns. You might've been shot, or they might've caught you and beaten you to death. If you'd had your razor, you would've fought. I'm relatively sure you would've disobeyed Harry and fought no matter what he told you to do... correct?" Carol turned her eyes to the floor. "Yes, Madam." "And it's quite possible, given your alcoholic intake that evening... or even without that, that you would have been defeated, as Harry was defeated, and the two of you would have been at their mercy. "Don't you see, Little Cunt? That would mean I lost both of you. I'm quite certain that the only reason they did such a half-assed job of killing my husband, your Master, your husband, is that they knew they didn't have much time. There was a woman running up the street towards a phone, blowing a whistle with every breath, and they had to rush. If you'd had your razor, things would have been very different, and not for the better, I fear. If you'd had your cell phone, well, that's a little fuzzier, but it still could've ended very badly, for you and for the man we love. "Given what was happening, I'm convinced, with every fiber of my being, that we achieved the best possible, realistic outcome. He's alive and we owe that all to you. I owe you my husband's life, our husband's life..." Margo slumped to the floor, wrapping her arms around her pet and her lover. "Don't you ever," she said, tears beginning to well up out of her eyes, "don't you ever blame yourself for what happened. You're my hero. You saved our husband's life. Don't you ever dare think it's your fault. I love you so much. I can never repay you for what you did. Thank you..." As Margo's crying deepened, Carol joined her in her tears. "I'm sorry for shaking you like that, Baby Girl... but don't you talk about yourself that way ever again... I will not tolerate it." Carol shook her head. "It's alright, Madam. I earned it. I won't do so again." And the two women huddled on the floor, holding each other tightly. * * * * * Kelly was wandering around like a ghost. She'd lost Jess, she was sure of that. Now she'd almost lost Harry... and her feelings about that... confused her. She wasn't in love with Harry... that was absurd. She wasn't in love with a man who was already married to a wonderful woman whom she adored, with a pet that was the lustiest and most fun playmate Kelly could imagine. But the way she was feeling... she needed to talk to someone about it... to her it made sense that it be Margo and Carol. She knocked softly on the door, not wanting to disturb anything, as she'd heard part of the discussion earlier and figured the two of them might have been relieving some stress in a Madam and Pet fashion, but she hadn't heard anything since. "Come in!" She opened the door to see Margo inadvertently mooning her as she dug in her luggage, looking for something, the t-shirt she was wearing to sleep in having pulled up in back. It was significant that Kelly was so lost that she didn't comment. "Uh, I know you two are tired, but I really need someone to talk to." Margo whirled around and Carol scooted up in the bed and flowed into sitting in a cross-legged position. Margo joined her, sitting with her back against the headboard of the bed. "What is it, sweetie? Talking with you is no trouble at all," Margo said. She patted the bed in front of her and Carol. "Why don't you come sit here and tell us what's bothering you?" Kelly climbed on the bed and sat as they did, cross-legged, completing the triangle of women. "What happened to Harry... is happening to him... it's just... hitting me harder... much harder... than I thought it would. I don't understand why... it's not that it shouldn't hit me hard, I expect that, but this is like I almost lost a... I don't know." "Well-" Margo began but stopped as Carol put a hand on her leg. "Kelly, my darling, do you realize you're in love with him?" she asked gently. "That's... that's not it... I can't be..." "Why not?" Margo replied. "He's a damn good man. We are, why should you be different?" "But that's just it, you're his wife, she's his pet... and yours... I'm lucky to have him as a friend and fuck-buddy but his heart is already... it's already spoken for. I can't be in love with him." Carol looked at her and smiled. "Kelly, honey, when did a heart ever listen to reason? Trust me; look deeper into your heart... you are in love with him." "Then I need to... if you're right I've got to... I'm not going to..." She began to cry. "I'm too fuckin' tired for this shit right now! I'm too tired and too scared and too worried to... Mistress? Madam? Please?" The two women leaned over and pulled her to them, ending up lying on either side of her and holding her as she cried. Carol raised her head to enter Margo's field of vision. She lifted an eyebrow questioningly and Margo gave a little nod. "Princess? Princess honey, listen to me... it's going to be alright. Do you hear me?" Kelly's cries softened a bit and she nodded her head. Carol got up and retrieved a box of tissues from the vanity. She handed a wad of them to Kelly. "Princess, your Mistress and Madam, your friends and lovers, your sister and mother, Carol and Margo, assure you everything is going to be alright. There's no need for you to do anything right this moment." With the two of them holding her and stroking her she finally calmed down enough to get herself under control, blowing her nose and wiping her face. Carol got up and went around the bed, shucking off her jersey and panties as she went. Once on the other side she worked Margo's t-shirt off of her, disrupting Margo's comforting of Kelly as little as possible. Then she went back to her side and unbuttoned the somewhat threadbare men's dress shirt that Kelly was wearing, working it off of her. Then she hopped back in bed behind her and pulled up the sheet. Margo offered her breast to Kelly who latched onto it like an infant and began to suckle at it, deriving comfort instead of nourishment, as Margo stroked her back. "That's it baby, Big Mama's got you, it's going to all be okay," Carol continued. "When Jess left you, we talked about this, she and I, didn't we, Big Mama?" "That's right, Princess, we did. Carol and I talked about it and came to a decision. That's what Carol went off to talk to Harry about when they headed for the park." "And Kelly, Harry loves you... he loves you as much as you love him. He thought Margo and I were uncomfortable with how you feel about him and that we'd want you to leave." Kelly drew back from Margo's breast, fear and loss warring on her face. The brash and brazen woman was gone, replaced by someone who had lost one she loved and now feared losing her family as well. "No, no, no, no... don't worry," Margo said, hugging her tightly. "We don't want you to leave, we're happy with you and love you too much. Carol and I discussed it and we both agree. "Princess, Kelly, Lady Kay, Third Mate Bum... the two of us would like you to marry the three of us. We'd like you to be as full a member of our partnership as any of us. In a way, to us at least, it feels like it would just be recognizing something that already exists... and stopping denying the truth." Kelly gazed in wonder at Margo, then at Carol, unable to miss the love and acceptance on their faces and in their eyes. "What did Harry say?" she asked, some small measure of fear remaining to show through in her voice. Carol looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, Kelly, he never really gave me his opinion of the idea. At least, not verbally... I know in my heart that he loves you as much as we all do, and I know that he went from looking like the world was caving in on him to being ready to fly off into the night from sheer joy when I explained Margo's and my position. I know what his answer will be, but before he could actually give it to me, all hell broke loose. I have no doubt that he will approve of the three of us asking you formally, as soon as he's able, to become a member of this group marriage. What do you think, Margo?" "I know Harry pretty well... everything tells me that he'll have no reservations whatsoever about us all proposing to Kelly. You'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to know he loves Kelly." "So my love, what will you say when we all ask you?" Carol asked, caressing her lover's face. The tears were running down Kelly's beautiful ebony cheeks as she said, "Yes... I'll say yes... and thank you... and I love you... all of you... and I've never been so happy in all my life." The three women hugged and held each other for a long time. Then Carol looked at her friend. "Kelly?" "Yeah?" "Is it going to be difficult for you to get time off from work to be here in case you're needed? Is it going to be hard for you to go to work with Jessica working there as well? Would you rather find another job?" "Yeah, it'll be hard to get a lot of time off, and I really feel my place is here. And yeah, working with Jess will be somewhat painful. I enjoy my job... but perhaps something else would be better right now." "Alright sweetie," Carol said, "would you like to help me around the house for awhile? I can cover any of your expenses and such, that's no problem. And it seems to me that right now you need to be taken care of. How does that sound to you? Wanna be a kept woman for awhile?" A shadow of the old Kelly showed through her fear and worry. "Just how you plan on keepin' me and what're you gonna want me to do for my keep?" she asked, a glint of mischievousness in her eye. Carol slid her legs open with a sinuous motion. "Oh, nothing you haven't done before." "Hell woman, that I do for free... I thought you were gonna have me start trimmin' your toenails and shit." The three women laughed together and then the sounds of laughter were replaced by softer, more erotic sounds. * * * * * From the sitting room Nicki could hear them as they made love. Everyone had somebody tonight... everybody but her and Tatiana. Resolving not to feel sorry for herself a second longer, she grabbed her room key and went down the hall to the older woman's door. She wanted company and drinks in the bar with Ms. Turov would certainly fit the bill. * * * * * As they lay in bed together, Theresa could faintly make out her Edward's face in the dimness of the room. There was a peace there that she hadn't seen since news of the attack had reached them. She stroked his cheek as he slept. The subterfuge at supper might have fooled the others, but not her. Edward and Niccolo had spoken privately and something in that conversation had calmed Edward's need to ‘do something'. She feared an arrangement had been reached and that someone would die at her beloved's hands. Still, it was what he needed to do, and she understood it completely. She again took pleasure in the peace and calm of his features, curled up next to her master and drifted off to sleep. * * * * * In the next bed over, Karen held Patricia in her arms, listening to her lover murmur softly to herself, and to her God. "You amaze me, Trish," she whispered. The murmuring stopped. Patricia's face turned towards her and Karen could make out a smile. "How so, my love?" she whispered in return. "You're still praying for him, aren't you?" "You bet I am, Liz, for him and for all of us." "It's just I've never seen you this way before." "You've never seen me when I felt the need for serious prayer... we've been so lucky and so blessed." "You really think you can sway some Creator of the Universe with your requests? Change what's going to happen?" "Hell no, I don't pray for that... what will be, will be. I pray for us all to have the strength and grace to handle whatever happens, as best we can. I don't believe that my pleas can change the course of events, but I do choose to believe that they can help each of us with what we must face." "It's just a side of you I've never seen." "I hope it doesn't freak you out or anything." "No my love," Karen responded as tears began to flow, "it just makes me more grateful than ever that you gave me that second chance." The two of them curled up and Karen went to sleep to the soft murmur of her partner's prayers. Oil of Roses Ch. 25 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * In short order Nicki and Tatiana were in the hotel bar, sipping their drinks and watching the world go by outside. They were quiet, silent in each other's company, but it was a companionable silence. It was Nicki who first broke it in a significant way. "Called my office this evening... told my editor I'd need more time off." "So, what'd he say to that?" "Said to take as much time as I needed... isn't like I don't have the vacation built up." "So, what's the problem?" "You mean, other than parties unknown trying to kill my brother and his lover?" Tatiana laughed. "Yeah, other than that little issue." "He very subtly reminded me of stories that were on the back burner, waiting for me, stories that he wanted on his desk in a reasonable amount of time... and I realized that I no longer give a shit." "How so?" the older woman asked, motioning the waitress for another of the same. "Ms. Turov-" "Call me 'Tattie'." "Tattie, when I came down here, I wanted to learn from my brother how to let go and be who I am and still have a life, along with my career, how to not let my job become all that I am. I mean, I've seen him... he loves advertising... he loves the people he works with, he loves what he does. He's in heaven when the creative juices are flowing and a brainstorming session is going on all cylinders. He's laughing and bouncing off walls and inviting everyone else to bounce off walls too, not necessarily in sync with him, but in their own patterns as well and somehow out of that divine chaos comes the campaign and then he and Karen hunker down and start shaping it, molding it, and he's like a kid building a soapbox derby car... serious, but always with that 'Oh, this is gonna be so cool and go so fast!' glint in his eyes. And while he's at the office that process is his whole world. "And when he walks out of the office, it's like a light switch. He leaves it behind. He used to stop for a drink or three on the way home, not to relieve the tension of the job but the tension of the freeway coming home from the job... the job was left behind. He has a life, people he loves and who love him. I mean, I don't count the 'Angie years'... but other than them, however great his joy in his work, it pales in comparison to the joy he takes in living his life. "With me it was always the opposite. My job was my life... there was nothing else for me in the world but the story I was working on, or the story I was thinking of writing after that, or the one after that. There was me and the stories and nothing was more important. I'd run on adrenaline and caffeine and sometimes other pharmaceuticals as well, whatever it took to get the story done; interviews, research, the writing, the polishing, the fact-checking, the rewrites... and when it was all over and done with, I'd have to tranq myself just to relax, just to realize that it was over. So I'd sleep a few days and then I'd be faced with what jokingly passed for my life... or the next story. The next story always won that showdown. I'd run back to my obsession as fast as I could and throw myself into it as hard as I could, anything to get away from the fact that I hated my life. "So I came to visit, hoping to learn his secret... hoping to be able to put things in perspective." "And what's happened has done that for you, hasn't it?" Tatiana asked, taking a sip of her drink. "Oh yeah," Nicki said, smiling ruefully, "it's been a crash course in perspective. I've realized that all my acquaintances in Atlanta, and that's pretty much all I have is acquaintances, don't equal one 'friend'... friends like Harry and the family down here have... friends who put their lives on hold to be there for each other," she said, arching her eyebrows at Tatiana. The old woman laughed. "One of the advantages of bein' your own boss... you can take time off when you want it. "It's really no big thing, Nicki. I've known Carol for quite some time... love her dearly. We share some very fond memories of an exceptional man. The more I see of this family that's coalescin' around her and Harry, the more I like it. Good people, all of them... not to say they don't all have their issues, but they're good people nonetheless. "I've secluded myself from people for far too long. At first I did it because it was convenient. I had my work, it's much easier to work at night, sleep during the day... but all of that was an excuse in a way... like you I was lonely and I didn't like my life. So I hid from it, hid to keep from being hurt... and when I had the money, I started attractin' 'companions' like Peter. Useless, vain, vapid... but the chatterin' noise they made allowed me to believe I wasn't alone. The friction of our sex lives allowed me to believe I was loved. "And then Carol popped back into my life, draggin' along these people and I felt comfortable with them... accepted by them... I allowed myself to bask in the reflection of their love and pretend it was directed towards me... and I realized that some of it , oddly enough, was. When they say that 'any friend of Carol's' thing, they really mean it. That, like Carol, they could love me just for existin', and for bein' a part of their lives. They didn't need to know me all that well, or psychoanalyze me... they loved me because I'd never given them a reason not to. Do you have any concept how rare that is?" "Oh yeah, got a real firm grip on it... and got a short taste of it myself before everything went to shit." "Well, it ain't gonna be shit forever. So, I gather you're strongly considerin' tellin' your editor to shove it up his ass and stayin' down here for awhile?" "Awhile... maybe a lot longer..." * * * * * Margo shuddered through another orgasm, intense and forceful, as Kelly licked and sucked her clitoris, arms wrapped around her thighs. Carol lay curled up on her side next to Margo, her mouth locked onto Margo's breast, her hands gripping her Madam's arm. Margo needed this time with her wives. No one ever needed to know how very close she'd come to losing it, how very close she'd been to giving up in the park. There were eternities of silent prayer and non-stop pleading with Harry not to leave them. Feelings she wanted to, needed to, forget because of the hopelessness and helplessness that lay beneath them. The three women clutched at each other as though in danger of drowning, their act of love seeming more the desperate joining of people fearing death. The gentleness of their normal loving was gone, replaced by a frantic and furious passion as they writhed on the bed, taking turns being the center of attention. Their love-making seemed aimed to exhaust them, driving away their worries and fears with physical effort and sexual release. Some time later Carol found herself on her knees, her cunt forced down upon Margo's face as she thrust into Carol with her tongue. Carol's mouth was latched on to one of Kelly's breasts as if she never intended to let go and at that moment, that wasn't far from the truth. Carol was fixated on breasts at the moment, a part of her needing the sensation of nursing at a mother's tit. Kelly seemed to understand this instinctively. "There, there, Baby Girl, I've got you... it's all right, everything's gonna be just fine," she murmured to Carol softly, stroking her hair. For herself, Kelly felt that even with all the upheaval and distress and worries about Harry and to a lesser degree about all of them, she was where she'd longed to be. She was well and truly home. Orgasms tore through Carol and she bit down on Kelly's breast, lightly bruising the skin, although Kelly was far from being able to notice. Carol had put one of her hands to use between Kelly's legs and Kelly had climaxes of her own to worry about. After more shifting of positions, Margo found her submissive side at the beck and call of Kelly who had her by the hair and was forcing Margo's face into her cunt while Carol and Kelly kissed passionately, Carol stroking Kelly's body with her fingernails. Through the sound baffling provided by Kelly's thighs Margo heard "That's it, eat me, bitch!" and Margo's orgasm surprised her as her inner submissive reveled in her situation. She put her hands behind her back and her feet together, as if she were bound, and savaged Kelly's clit with her tongue. Carol, noticing her posture, got up and found some dress belts that Margo had brought from home for her suits. She used them to tie up their wife, drawing the straps good and tight and securing her well. She hauled Margo's head up by her hair and asked "Is that what you wanted, slave?" "Yes ma'am," Margo sobbed and then Carol let her head back down to Kelly's mound. Carol crawled up in the bed and slung a leg over Kelly's belly, settling in to rub her cunt against Kelly while Kelly sucked her tits. The position was a little awkward, but Carol didn't care at the moment as Kelly was returning the favor, biting down on her nipples, creating a delightful pain that shoved her towards another orgasm. Fervently and furiously they went at each other, tongues and fingers and hands and lips, sweat and sweeter secretions mixing to fill the air of the room with an aphrodisiac scent that only served to increase their need. Three voices, the songs of three women's passion, blended into one song... BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! "I guess... we should... be quieter," panted Carol. "I think the neighbors are starting to object." The three women laughed and then returned to their loving, albeit in a quieter fashion. Eventually the cries of passion faded and all that was left was the sweaty gliding of skin upon skin as the three tired, frightened lovers comforted each other before drifting off to sleep. * * * * * Once Niccolo Philouma got back to his hotel suite, he began to make phone calls. Soon some of his father's most trusted men, men who might not know what was destined to happen upon Big Vic's death, but who knew how Vic felt about each of his sons and knew that even as Consigliore, Nick was no one to mess with, drifted into the suite of rooms he maintained at the Hotel Grand to keep up the illusion of the disaffected son who only returned because of his father's illness. Nick told them what he wanted done. He didn't tell them why, and they didn't ask. * * * * * Harry Grimes swam up from the silvery surface of the sea that marked the barrier between his conscious and subconscious minds. An emergency elsewhere on the floor had diverted the staffs' attentions and finally he was able to come to consciousness, although he was hazy and very disoriented. When the nurse returned to her station and casually scanned the monitors, she let out a most unprofessional squeal and rushed to his room to put him back under, only to be stopped by his croaking voice. "Please... before you put... me back to sleep... please... I have to see... my lawyer... call my partner... Karen Pinard." The nurse got the attending physician and after a short conference with Harry, Dr. Lowry did as his patient asked. * * * * * Karen had expected many things might interrupt her nights sleep; none of them were what eventually did. "Do you think we ought to go wake up Margo and the others?" Patricia asked. "No, Harry specifically asked that they not be disturbed... although I think that when he's better, they're gonna kick his ass for it." "No shit," Eddy said. "You want company?" "No, y'all go back to sleep. Hopefully this won't take too long." * * * * * Harry was beginning to reconsider the wisdom of his actions. Dr. Lowry was standing by in case he changed his mind, and the pain slowly growing everywhere in his body was starting to make very potent arguments in favor of him giving in and letting them dope him to the gills once again. It was taking a very conscious effort on his part not to thrash about because of the pain and he knew as soon as he did the doctor was going to fulfill his threat of putting a stop to the whole operation. Harry continued to focus on staying still, relaxing when he could and riding the waves of pain as they continued to crescendo through his body. It seemed to help some, relegating the pain to what felt like a second level of awareness. Perhaps he was fooling himself, but if he was, Harry was content that it was hurting no one but him. * * * * * J. Noble Daggett wasn't in the business of criminal law therefore he was unused to middle of the night meetings. His daughter Mattie had been hauled out of bed as well to act as secretary and notary for the evening. He had been the Grimes family attorney for the last twenty years and Karen Pinard's attorney since she and Harry had started their company. Now he and his daughter were being driven across the city by a madwoman, to see a man he understood to be barely alive. * * * * * "Howdy... Daggett," Harry croaked. "Glad... you made it... so quick." "Thank your partner, Harry," the old gentleman replied. "I think we broke the sound barrier coming across 38th St. You remember my daughter, Mattie?" "Mattie... of course... listen... I don't mean... to be inhospitable... but I'm in a lot... of pain... and I won't let them... give me anything... until we're through." "Of course... now, I understand you want to change your will." "Yes. Angie is out... completely... all my estate... to be split... evenly... between Margo Wohler-Sapperstein... Carol Riley... Kelly Culberson... and my sister... Nicki Grimes. "Executor... of my estate... to be Margo... if not... then Carol... if not... then Kelly. "My share of... Grimes & Pinard... to be administered... by Karen Pinard... for the benefit... of my heirs. "You need... anything else... from me?" "No Harry, just let Mattie get the blanks filled in, get it printed up, we've got witnesses aplenty here, and then you sign as best you can. Then you let them knock you out... you look more than half-dead." A faint hint of a smile crossed Harry's face. "Love you too." A few moments later the boilerplate had been adapted to fit the situation, it had been printed out on the printer they'd brought with them, Harry's signature, shaky and weak, was on the document and witnesses had signed. Mattie pulled out her notary seal and notarized it. As Dr. Lowry gave the nod, sedative and pain medication were fed into Harry's IV and the doctor smiled with satisfaction as his patient once again slipped into unconsciousness. "Doctor," Karen said, "please tell me my business partner isn't going to need that revised will any time soon." Dr. Lowry looked at the stocky woman before him and smiled. "He'll be fine, although it'll take quite awhile for him to fully recover. Now, if you'd asked me that question twelve hours ago..." "Well then, Doctor, I'm glad as hell I didn't talk to you twelve hours ago," Karen said and then she, Mr. Daggett and his daughter headed for her car.. * * * * * Nicki and Tatiana couldn't have missed Karen's sudden departure from the hotel and, once the bar closed, had decided to wait in the lobby for her. They sat and talked quietly until Karen finally came back through at around 4 in the morning. She sat down and gave them an abbreviated version of the night's events. "So, that's how I've spent the middle of my night, ladies. Now, if y'all don't mind, I have a warm bed and a wonderful woman to get back to. I'll talk to y'all in the morning." "Sounds like a plan," Nicki said. "I'm headed for bed myself. What about you, Tattie?" "I'll be lucky if my old ass stays awake long enough to make it to my room." "Well, don't worry," Nicki replied, "I'll be with you most of the way and if you start to nod off, I'll goose you." Tatiana Turov rose to her full height, turned and looked imperiously at Nicki over the tops of her glasses. "I think not." "Tattie, you can think what ever you like," Nicki said, her face wearing a grin remarkably like her brother's, "but you start to stumble, I'm-a goosin' your ass." The three women laughed together as they headed for the elevators. * * * * * Tuesday morning dawned bright and cloudless. Karen, after her evening's fun, had decided two very important things. The first was that she was not going into the office until lunch at the earliest. The second was that she was getting another room for her and Patricia, all to themselves, as soon as possible. The close proximity between her and Eddy first thing in the morning was a bad idea, in much the same way as placing two rabid wolverines in a garbage can together might be considered a 'bad idea'. Meeting everyone but Margo for breakfast, as she was already at the clinic, Karen briefly recapped the night's occurrences. "Before I left, Dr. Lowry told me he'd be getting a-hold of Margo at the clinic today anyway and would tell her about it then. Looks like they'll be moving Harry to a private room this afternoon, downgrading his status from 'critical' to 'serious'. They'll be tapering off the heavy-duty sedatives over the next day or two, but he'll be on pain meds and the milder stuff for awhile longer. "Jesus... he really looked bad last night..." "Liz," Patricia hissed, "do you really think they need to hear that right now." Carol looked at her and smiled. "It's okay Patricia; we do need to hear it. It'll help prepare us for seeing him ourselves. By this point I have faith that they'll keep him alive so I really don't give a shit how bad he looks. He'll be okay eventually... although Margo told Kelly and me last night that he's going to have an interesting set of scars. Carol laughed to herself quietly. "What's got you chuckling, dearie?" asked Tatiana. "Karen's warning kind of reminds me of something that happened when I was younger. When my grandfather had his first major stroke, all the grandkids were brought together and we were going to go in and see him as a group. Since I was the official underachiever of the group, I got lectured and coached and warned by every adult there about how I was not to react to the paralyzation of his face in any way. Nobody was worried about all my siblings and cousins, they weren't going to have any trouble at all with it, but me, oh, they expected me to go to pieces or freeze or something. "So we all go trooping in... it was a fucking disaster. Four grandkids left the room in tears, two others just stood there and cried, and the rest couldn't look him at him and just stood there looking at everything but him and said nothing. Oil of Roses Ch. 25 "I sat down on the bed next to him, caressed his cheek, the side that could feel it, told him he didn't look bad at all, and that he needed to keep his hands off any cute nurses or else my grandmother was gonna put him in the hospital for something serious instead of this piddley stroke business. We sat together for about an hour, me just talking up a storm and him smiling with the side that could smile. "I think that was when I first realized that my family had absolutely no idea how to deal with me or what to expect from me. They simply couldn't understand me... where I was and where I was going in my life was too foreign to them. Since I didn't fit into their mold of 'right' then I had to be wrong... defective somehow. "It was a very alienating experience." "Jesus, sounds like... how old were you?" Patricia asked. "Fifteen... I think that was pretty much the book-end of my childhood... after that at least I understood that my parents and I were not of the same species. They still tried to be my parents when I showed up on their 'radar', but I really didn't pay them much mind. They had nothing to say that I needed to hear. "My grandparents, on the other hand... any of them I'd gladly listen to for days. They never placed filters on their vision. I was their granddaughter, I was 'alright'. They might not understand where I was or what was going on in my life, but they were okay with it if it made me happy. And if it didn't make me happy, they'd offer the sage advice of changing whatever it was to something that made me happy." "That's all the advice they gave you? They didn't try to tell you what to change about your life?" Karen said. "Nope, they seemed to figure that I was going to have to make my own way, make my own mistakes, just like they had, just like all their kids had... so the best and most comprehensive advice they could give me was to change whatever made me unhappy to something that made me happy. "If I'd listened to that simple advice a bit better, my life would've been a lot better I think." "I'm not so sure about that, darlin'," Kelly said. "Why were you in the Pearl the night you met Harry?" "Because Rick wanted me out of the apartment... okay, point taken... maybe things worked out perfectly after all," Carol replied, smiling. After breakfast Karen made her way to the office. After calling everyone together and letting them know how Harry was, she went to her office and called the realtor who was showing the house near Harry's. She and Patricia were going to go look at it later that afternoon and Karen had a feeling they'd be making an offer on it, or on another in the area, shortly thereafter. Kelly drove to the restaurant and after explaining the situation to the owners found that they were quite willing to grant her an indefinite leave of absence, welcome back whenever she felt like returning. As she drove back to the hotel, she felt guilty about just how glad she'd been that Jess had been out on a delivery run while she was there. For the rest of family and friends the day was passing uneventfully, their time spent in the suite, worrying and wondering when exactly they could start visiting Harry. Late in the afternoon word reached them that he could begin receiving visitors the next day. Margo returned from the clinic hot and tired. She had barely had time to shower and get dressed when Madame Cornelius arrived. With her came a very conventionally dressed Li Kuan and the two ladies were escorted by the great hulking walls of masculinity that were Andre and Hans. After Carol made introductions, Madam Cornelius took Margo's hands in her own. "Mrs. Grimes," the Grand Dame said, "I've come to offer my sympathies on your husband's attack. If there's anything I can do, please don't hesitate to let me know. Li Kuan has offered to help punish the perpetrators, should such be possible." With that the lovely oriental woman opened her mouth and grinned widely, her filed teeth glistening with saliva. "While not actually a cannibal she has absolutely no compunctions about biting someone. In fact, we had a bit of trouble with a young man who broke into our house several years ago who while in the process of robbing us came across Li Kuan sleeping and decided to indulge in a little rape. He sued us and we settled out of court. Shortly thereafter we added Hans and Andre to the household not only as playmates but as security also. Settling once was expensive but I was far more concerned with the attitude of the district attorney's office. The D.A. assured me that if Li Kuan ever bit anyone like that again and charges were filed, he'd be asking for the maximum sentence possible." The elderly woman caressed her oriental companion, her hand rising up the back of Li Kuan's leg to run along the crotch seam of her pants. "And as I'm very fond of her that would be extremely inconvenient. Now then, as I'm of the opinion there isn't a decent restaurant to be found in this hotel, I suggest that I take all of you out to supper at the restaurant of your choice... but as Andre and Hans haven't fed since lunch, I suggest you decide in a somewhat speedy manner or random arms and legs could be in danger." * * * * * Alvin Jones and Tom Priest had grown up in a small town not too far away from the city. They'd started out as petty thieves and vandals, gotten into drugs, worked as muscle for hire for numerous small time operators and in the final tally, spent the majority of their lives looking for that one big opportunity that would really pay off for them. For anyone who showed half an inclination to lend either or both of them a kindly ear they'd spin out their well-rehearsed and essentially true stories of childhoods full of drunken parents, broken homes, physical and emotional abuse, mental and sexual abuse, lack of economic opportunity, absence of positive role models, victimization by authority figures, the whole sad and pathetic panorama of a white trash grand opera. The gentlemen they were being questioned by didn't show any inclination to offer a kindly ear or any other kindly body part to them. The call had gone out, anonymously except for his immediate underlings, from Niccolo Philouma on down through the Family organization all the way to the streets. Someone in the organization was very interested in two young men matching the rudimentary descriptions he'd gotten from Carol, scant glimpses as she'd run, one of them with a chunk bitten out of him, who'd been involved in a hit gone bad in a park at 45th and Garwood. The figure of twenty-five thousand dollars was mentioned as a reward. It had taken less than sixteen hours for Alvin and Tom to end up in the rough and uncaring hands of Nick's associates. And within an hour of their capture, they were being held waiting for Nick, their eyes blinded by bright lights as they sat, tied to chairs in a warehouse on the east side of town. Nick spent his afternoon questioning the two of them, carefully, justly and fairly, as Margo had asked. The bright lights were removed and they were made comfortable. Nick dealt with them face to face, letting them know exactly who he was. He had his men bring them drinks and he kept the alcohol coming. It took quite awhile but he managed to convince them that they were in no danger from him. He understood they were merely doing a job. That was a kind of business he could understand. Neither he nor any of his people were going to hurt either of them. They had his word of honor. They hadn't been hurt yet, just a little roughed up. All he wanted was information on why they'd done what they had. Finally the confessions started pouring out. The two of them knew this girl, a hooker, who'd been seeing this doctor regularly and this doctor wanted a job done. He wanted to punish his cunt of a wife, and he wanted to do it by killing her two lovers. This was the big break they'd been waiting for. He was paying them a hundred thousand dollars when both the targets were dead. It was all him, his scheme, even down to the leaving of their faces completely untouched so Margo would always have a real clear picture of all she'd lost. Alvin and Tom were just doing a job, just taking advantage of the chance of a lifetime. Mr. Philouma was very understanding. After Nick had the information he wanted he made a short phone call. * * * * * After a wonderful meal at Mickey & Miguel's everyone was relaxing with after dinner drinks when Eddy's cell phone buzzed. "Hello? Yes sir... I'll be there right away... I understand and thank you." He closed the phone. "Well, I need to run by the office for a bit. The boss-man has an op he wants my opinion on. Won't take me but an hour at the most. Theresa honey, would you mind catchin' a ride back to the hotel with someone?" "I wouldn't mind at all, Edward. Be careful." Eddy looked at her and realized she knew... somehow she knew. And she didn't hate him for what he was going to do. He smiled at her and made his way out to his truck. * * * * * Nick then spent some more time talking with the two young men. "Mr. Philouma, sir, if you don't mind me askin', how did you find us?" asked Tom. "It was your trip to Dr. Bennett that gave us our first scent of your trail. We know all of the doctors who handle 'questionable' injuries in this town, all the back-alley types. Checking with them for someone with a chunk bitten out of his leg was easy. That gave us a starting place. From there we just followed your trail. Next time, grab your nutsack and just start calling doctors out of the phone book until you get to one that can see you that day. There are way too many doctors in town for anyone, even the cops, to question them all." "Thank you Mr. Philouma... we wasn't thinkin'... and my leg hurt somethin' fierce, I couldn't walk on it, Alvin had to fuck near carry me," said Tom. "I imagine it did, Tom, I imagine it did... from what I hear, that guy bit a whole mouthful out of it." "Yessir, yessir he did... hamstringed me. Dr. Bennett said I'm gonna have to have an operation to graph muscles from somewhere else in there so I can walk right again. Until then I'm stuck with crutches and a man can't do no business if he's on crutches." "He said 'graft', you moron, 'graft' not 'graph'," Alvin interjected, sneering at his partner. "Whatever," Tom sneered in return, "but with what that Jew-boy paid us up front and what we'll get when you finish the damn job, I'll be able to afford to have it done." After the inevitable squabble over whether or not Tom deserved his full share since Alvin was going to be finishing the job alone, Nick continued to chat with the two of them. When one of his men showed Eddy into the warehouse Nick gave a slight nod as Eddy walked up behind them. With a quick and brutal twist of his head, Alvin Jones was sent to meet his Maker. When Tom heard the unmistakable crunching sound he turned, recognizing Eddy from their surveillance of Harry and Carol. He turned back to Nick and said in a resigned voice, "You said you and yours were gonna let us be." "I didn't lie... Mr. Janak doesn't work for me... never has, never will. And at no time did I say I was going to protect your worthless ass from the best friend of the man you damn near killed." "Mr. Janak, tell Mr. Grimes for me that it was nothing personal... it was just business. I don't hold nothin' against him for bitin' me neither." "I'm not gonna tell him a gawddamn thing for you, you piece of shit," Eddy said and with another sickening crack, it was all over. "Eddy, don't worry about the bodies... I guarantee you they'll never be found," Nick said, getting up from his folding chair. "What now? Who ordered this?" "You know I shouldn't tell you that... if I did, Eddy, you'd be likely to go run off and do something stupid." "I give you my word I won't." "I suppose you have as much a right to know as anybody... fair enough... it was Sapperstein." "Alright, since Margo has asked you to be judge, jury and executioner, if need be, what are you going to do about it?" "I'll let that be a surprise, but you won't have to wait more than four days at most to find out. Tell Margo I'll be by to see her this evening, give her the news first hand." "I will... and thank you... thank you very much." "Don't thank me, Eddy... you saved me a lot of trouble... if you hadn't volunteered to kill them, I would've had to find a way to make it happen without breaking my word to them. You got any idea how much of a hassle that was gonna be?" * * * * * Eddy returned to the hotel with no small degree of trepidation. It was one thing for Theresa to approve in theory of his killing the two men who had attacked Harry and Carol. It could be quite another thing once he'd actually done it. (Because this could be it, couldn't it, Monster? This could be what finally strikes the blinders from her eyes and lets her see you for what you truly are. Are you looking forward to staring at those four walls again, all alone?) His heart was pounding at a rapid pace when he reached their room and slid the keycard into the lock. He walked in and found her sitting cross-legged on the bed in a robe, smiling at him. "You made it back safely, Edward... I can stop worrying now," she said, getting up from the bed and hugging him. "Is there anything I can get for you?" As the weight lifted from his heart and he held his love in his arms he smiled. "Just you... all I need is you." * * * * * Later in the evening, when Nick left the hotel after speaking with Margo and Carol, he was thinking what an extraordinarily lucky man Harry Grimes was. They had taken the news quite well and hadn't been at all surprised when Nick told them of Eddy's involvement. "If you hadn't mentioned him I'd have known you were lying, if only by omission," Margo said. He had told Margo she wouldn't have to wait long to find out Benjamin's fate... but that she should consider suitable clothing for a funeral. Her face had had a cold, icy cast to it as she said, "I think I know just the one I'll wear." * * * * * Eddy dreamt of her, on a sunny warm day, held by his outstretched arms as the world spun around the two of them until it was a blur and he let go of her. He dreamt of how it must have been for her in those final moments, spinning and soaring through wild gyrations in the air, her hair whipped out behind her. She loved 'flying', as she called it. And pleasing her was his life. In his dreams he remembered how she looked, a little blond angel all smiles and bright eyes, the sound of her laughing shriek the last clear notes of joy he'd ever hear from her. She had slipped the bonds of earth. But the earth was a jealous bitch and took her back. And Eddy watched her hit again and again and again. Twenty-one years later he could remember every second, every expression, every drop of blood as it arced through the sky, the sharp cracking sound. Most of all he remembered that last, short bark of a cry that escaped her lips. In the aftermath there was the terror on his mother's face, the look of a lifetime's hopes and dreams crushed in an instant. The wounded look that never left her face. Even the mortician's skills couldn't erase it twenty-one years later and she had gone to her grave bearing the mark of Eddy's (the Monster's) misdeeds. She had said she forgave him, but that was impossible. Some things you never forgive, some things you can't forgive. There were the words of his father, damning him, cursing him, blaming him... all of them, while painful, a thousand times less so than the punishment he inflicted on himself. His father had never pretended to forgive him. He remained honest in his hatred even now. "Wake up, sir! Please, love, wake up! EDWARD, WAKE THE FUCK UP!" Theresa pounded on his back as Eddy continued to weep, rolled into a fetal ball of sheer misery, his hands locked on his upper arms, holding them in a white-knuckled grasp. Theresa could see blood oozing up where his fingers were gouging into his flesh. He shook and rocked as though he were being beaten and unbeknownst to Theresa, that's exactly what was happening. His father's kicks would forever echo in Eddy's dreams. Her blows, falling on his body, only played into his nightmare and strengthened its hold on his consciousness. Eventually she gave up and went to the bathroom, bringing back a pitcher of water and dashing it in his face. As her love spluttered to wakefulness, she knelt by the side of the bed, head and eyes downcast. As soon as Edward finished coming to and wiping his face, she felt his hand, large and gentle, come to rest on her head. He stroked her hair. "Bad nightmare, huh?" he asked softly. "Apparently so, sir." "You couldn't wake me up any other way?" "No sir, I tried." "Well shit, that leaves me with no gawddamn justification to make you sleep in the wet spot," he said and she could hear the smile on his face. "Since when have you ever required a justification, Edward?" she replied, smiling herself. "That's it, prepare to be tickled," he said as he pulled her up on top of him. * * * * * Margo whimpered to herself as she tried to go to sleep. The rest of them would never, could never, know just how close it had really been. None of them had the medical training to recognize just how near death he'd been when the EMT's arrived. Even if she explained it to them, and why would she, they wouldn't have the years of experience that had tormented her through that terrible time. The experience that told her she'd done all she could and it still wasn't enough... that the only thing that could keep her love alive was his will. They'd never know how she'd felt like some primitive shaman, muttering to her patient that he had to want to live, to fight to live, that there was nothing more she could do for him. Margo had, in her intern year, worked a turn in the E.R. She was no stranger to traumatic injury or blood... the weekend graveyard shift at any major urban E.R. brought a doctor in contact with far more of both than her time with Harry had. But none of her experiences there had the effects on her that her eternity in the park had. She was periodically being overwhelmed by the rich, coppery smell of blood everywhere around her for no reason at all. The smell would surround her, making her gag, and then it would be gone as quickly as it had come. When she was least expecting it she'd look down to see her hands and sleeves soaked in his blood and she'd wonder for just a moment why no one else was as horrified as she. She wasn't sleeping well, tortured by a nightmare where Harry's will had been just a bit weaker and she'd watched the man she loved leave her, the light fading from his eyes, his body losing the feeling of life, going dead and heavy in her arms. If she closed her eyes for too long during the day, his dying eyes would appear and a cold, hard panic would grip her. Her breath and heart rates would speed up, she'd break out in a cold clammy sweat, terror would freeze her mind with an ongoing chorus of "He's dead, he's dead, he's dead". If she'd had to diagnose her symptoms in another, she'd say it sounded like a clear-cut case of post-traumatic stress syndrome. She knew better than to prescribe for herself. She'd go see an old colleague of hers about it the next day... if she could just get through the night. * * * * * Nick's night had been anything but pleasant. First his father had called him in and read him the riot act for using Family resources in a profligate manner in the 'Margo & Carol' matter. Nick had known the old man would find out sooner or later and he'd hoped for later... much later... after Big Vic was dead would've been just fine. Now that all he had left to do was deal with Dr. Benjamin Sapperstein himself, he didn't really need all that much Family manpower, but the old man had shut the whole thing down. Even the knowledge that it involved Carol hadn't changed the old man's view. Oil of Roses Ch. 25 But Nick had given his word. And then that psychopath Phil had cornered him. Someone in his crew had finally put two and two together and showed the fat, sweaty moron a picture of Harry in a newspaper article on the assault. Now Phil was ready to finish the job that the two men had started in the park, and extend it to Carol and Margo as well, since they'd been mentioned in the article. Nick had managed to chill his pathetic brother out by pointing out that there was undoubtedly a police presence at the hospital due to the nature of the case... of course, he'd used much smaller words than that. Even so, Nick knew it wouldn't be long until Phil convinced himself that he could plan a hit that would be so slick the police would never even know it had happened. In short, it would be another Phil-Philouma-produced disaster for the Family and its visibility. He could work around his father's prohibition on using Family men... there was no working around Phil. He pulled out a clean and untraceable cell phone and sent a text message to a number he'd only call once, to a member of Phil's retinue. The message read 'John the Baptist'. Then he fell to his knees and prayed that his brother's bodyguards were as useless as they seemed to be. * * * * * Carmine Vicenzio was loyal, loyal to a fault, and had always been so... right up until the day, fifteen years before, when Big Vic had made it clear that Philip was his heir apparent and had assigned Carmine to be one of his bodyguards. His loyalty had wavered that day and had gotten steadily shakier every day since. Carmine had grown up in the Family. His father had been a made man and when the Philouma family had come to Texas from New Jersey, his father had come with them. Carmine had never deluded himself into thinking that the business he was in was anything noble or righteous... it was a business that dealt almost exclusively with the darker side of human nature and he was used to associating with the scum of society. A lot of people would have considered him part of that scum. But Philip Philouma... it was enough to make Carmine physically ill. He had ulcers from having to put up with Fat Phil and his disgusting desires and habits. That, in his opinion, was fucking ridiculous. And to make matters worse, Carmine had been made Phil's procurer... a pimp for a pig. So when Nick Philouma had first started feeling him out about being the last resort against Phil doing something incredibly stupid, Carmine had been willing to listen. And when Nick was through outlining what he had planned, Carmine was ready to do a lot more than listen. * * * * * The next morning, Eddy had come to a decision. "Theresa, sweetheart... after last night... my nightmare and the conversation we had at dinner, I don't think we're gonna wait for this weekend for you to meet Rachel. Lemme call and make sure it's okay for us to visit today." Theresa looked at her love with questioning eyes but he ignored those unvoiced inquiries and gently herded her towards the shower. Once he had her in and the water running, he left the bathroom and made a call on his cell. A few moments later he joined her in the shower. "We're all set. Get the two of us cleaned up, get some food in us, we'll get out of here, make a stop or two along the way and then... well, and then we'll see what happens." "As you wish, Edward." At breakfast they saw Kelly, the only other member of the family awake and present in the restaurant, and let her know they'd be gone for most of the morning, possibly into the afternoon. After a pleasant meal they made their way a party supply store where Eddy bought sixteen bright mylar balloons. Then they pulled into a strip mall and went to a small toy store where Eddy had Theresa pick out five vividly colored stuffed animals. "Don't worry about the size, big or small, colorful is what you're looking for... she loves colors, lots of bright, garish color. And if you see something that really catches your eye, grab it... we ain't limited to five and money ain't a worry. I just kinda generally start with five." So it was that they left the toy store with eight brilliantly colored plushies crowding Theresa for space in the cab of the truck. "Edward, I hope we don't need to pick up anything else... between these and the balloons, I think anymore and I'll be riding in the bed of the truck back there." "Nope, my love, the only other stop we're making is for something small." After a stop at Lambe's Candies for a bag of Licorice Medallions, they headed west. "Now, I know you're a good actress since you was with Phil... don't get upset around her, always keep a smile on your face, as genuine a one as possible. If she senses people getting upset around her she has a tendency to get real upset herself." (I hope you enjoyed your last night with this woman, Monster. After today she'll never speak to you again, no matter what you do or say. It's back to the slatterns for you, Monster, back to the women who look like your soul.) "Don't worry, sir, I'll be fine. I won't embarrass you, sir." "I know you won't, my beloved." He pulled the truck up to a guard house at a large, wrought-iron gate. Eddy showed the guard his drivers license. "I'm here to visit Rachel Janak, Dr. Kessler approved it this morning." "Yes sir, enjoy your visit," the guard said, smiling, as he buzzed the gates open. Down a long winding gravel road they drove, through pecan and Texas red oak trees until they came to a large three-story Victorian-style house surrounded by long single-story buildings like the wings of a school, or hospital. A sign in front of the yellow and white Victorian home read "Rays of Sunshine Home". Eddy pulled the truck into an open area of gravel and parked. "This place opened up as a facility to care for injured soldiers after the Civil War. The original home burned down and they built that beautiful Victorian one," Eddy said. "They've added new sections and modernized over the years... Rachel was lucky to get in here." Giving the balloons to Theresa he carried the stuffed animals and led her up on the porch to the bright white door and then inside. She was rather surprised to see that inside, while the Victorian motif was maintained, there was no doubt they were in the administrative offices of a medical facility. After procuring 'Visitor' badges for the two of them, Eddy led her back behind the home to one of the annexes. On the way they passed two security guards who very surreptitiously checked to see that they had their 'Visitor' badges, but otherwise did nothing but greet them pleasantly. "Edward, what is it with all the security here?" Tamara asked. "About ten years ago an attempt was made to kidnap one of the residents, a patient who happened to be the brother of one of Texas' senators. They were both children of very, very old oil money." "Isn't 'very, very old oil money' a contradiction in terms?" "Not in Texas... anyway, the luck of the Gods came down and rested on the head of the one old retiree they had out here wandering the grounds as security. He was in exactly the right place at exactly the right time and managed to get his gun out before the kidnappers knew what was happening. Kidnapping was foiled, perpetrators were convicted, everybody was happy. Needless to say, the Senator was very grateful and praised the facility to the high heavens, which brought it to the attention of some rather wealthy families with members who needed the kind of care this place provides. The administration figured they'd better not bet on luck so they beefed up their security considerably, and the increase in patients whose families could, and did, pay through the nose has more than covered the added operating expenses." They walked into the annex and a sunlit and clean lobby, the walls and trim in complementing shades of bright green. Eddy walked up to the counter. "Janelle, how you been?" A large black woman came waddling out from behind the counter. "Eddy," she exclaimed, hugging him, "where you been? You haven't come to see her in almost a month!" "I know, I know... I already feel like shit about it... but life kinda got in the way. Janelle, meet Tamara my... well, she's gonna be my fiancée sooner or later, I just ain't got around to askin' her yet. Tamara, this is Janelle, she's been working with Rachel for the last twelve years." The large woman put out her hand and Tamara shifted some of the balloons and shook hands. "Now Eddy Janak, this li'l ol' girl is pretty and polite, you better hold on to her." "No Janelle, it's me that's got to hold on to him," Tamara replied with a smile. "You better get yo' big ignernt ass around to that proposin', Eddy, this one's worth keepin'." "I know that's right, Janelle. Well, where is she today?" "Hector's got her out on the lawn, south side, catchin' some sun. She's been in an awful mood since yo' Daddy's last visit. It's got so we medicate her when he's comin', otherwise she gets so upset she's impossible to deal with. If we tranq her, he don't notice and she just in a funk for a couple of days." "Well, let us go drop these animals off in her room and then we'll head out there, see if I can't lighten her mood some." "Yeah, I saw you brought balloons. We've got two new nurses on staff, either one of 'em give you any shit, you send 'em to me, I'll straighten 'em out." "Janelle, if you weren't already married to Roscoe, I'd have to put the moves on you." "Shee-it, you couldn't handle this much woman!" she said, waddling back behind the counter. "You're probably right," Eddy responded as he and Tamara headed down the hall. He turned into a room and when Tamara followed him in she was surprised by the size of the room and by its décor. One wall was nothing but shelves and most of the shelves were filled with stuffed animals of every size, shape and color. The ceiling of the room was covered in empty mylar balloons, making it a sea of silver with brightly colored sayings and pictures floating on the surface. The other walls of the room, where not broken by windows or doors, were liberally decorated with posters of nature: the sea, mountains, waterfalls, glaciers, forests, streams, valleys, islands, rivers, jungles. There were a few posters of castles and one of a sailing ship, but they were the exception. Eddy put the stuffed animals on the bed and was turning back to the door when Janelle poked her head around the corner. "Eddy Janak, you done got me so flustered I almost let you get away with it." "Janelle, you know I wouldn't let her eat enough of them to spoil her appetite." "Uh huh, hand 'em over." Eddy opened the bag of Licorice Medallions and took out two, then handed the bag over. "One a day, same as always?" "Of course... I give 'em to her after her lunch. Now you go on out there an' don't take no shit from anyone, get her smilin' again." "Will do, boss. C'mon Tamara, let's go visit Rachel." As they exited the building and walked around it heading in a general southerly direction, Tamara looked up at her love. "So, are you going to tell me what happened? It seems obvious that she's your sister but other than that I don't have a clue." The big man slowed his pace and she noticed his hand, faintly grasping, so she put her hand in his. "I was nine, she was six when it happened. Daddy and Mama both worked, always had, so we were raised by daycare, babysitters and neighbor ladies. I started takin' care of her when I was four or five, just handlin' little things, like feeding her, changin' diapers, keepin' her outta trouble, things like that. I didn't mind... I thought it was great that something so small and precious was entrusted to me. She was a little angel and I got to watch out for her. "We had a big old oak tree in the backyard. Daddy'd hung a rope swing from it and Rachel used to love to have me push her and spin her around. She'd go swirling through the air, holding on to the rope for dear life, skinny little legs sticking straight out through the loops Daddy put below the knot, shriekin' her fool head off, and laughin' nonstop. "It was the most beautiful music my ears have ever heard. "Well, one day when I was nine, like I said, and she was six, she kept wantin' to go faster and higher, so I grabbed her by her feet, spun her around and around, like a hammer thrower at the Olympics, and then let loose." Eddy stopped in his tracks. "Oh Theresa, baby, she flew! She'd never spun so fast or flown so high. She'd never laughed so hard or screamed so loud. It was the proudest moment of my life. "And then she slammed into the tree... and I heard her break... like some porcelain doll. Broke her back, her arm, her shoulder, her ribs... caved in the side of her head. And my little sister fell from the swing and just lay there." "Sir, you don't have-" "No, you wanted to know... you've got a right to know. I screamed, our next-door neighbor came running over, grabbed her, put her in her car and rushed her to the hospital. I just stood there... I stood there and looked at the tree. I just knew I'd killed her. A couple of hours later when Mama and Daddy got home, Daddy came out and found me still standin' there, lookin' at the tree. He beat the ever-livin' shit out of me... I peed orange for a week-and-a-half... from what I know now, I figger he broke a few ribs too. Mama tried to stop him, but he just back-handed her and told her to stay out of it. "For the rest of the time I lived at home, any time he thought about Rachel for too long, he'd come find me and beat me... and I'd let him, even when I was big enough I could've stopped him if I'd wanted to... I deserved every beatin' he gave me. He's never forgiven me and I don't expect him to... I don't want him to... Mama said she did, but I knew it was a lie... she never showed it but there are things you don't forgive. "Rachel's got limited mobility in her arms and hands, no mobility any lower... and the mind of a six-year-old... they had her in some skanky facilities until Daddy got hurt in an accident, won a pretty big settlement and used the money to get her in here. I've been coverin' a lot of the cost for quite awhile, soon as I had a job that paid enough where I could cover some of them. "He comes to see her and all he can do is cry... and that just upsets her no end... the staff has tried suggestin' that if all he's gonna do is upset her maybe he shouldn't come but you can guess how well that goes over... so now they're sedatin' her so her Daddy can visit. "It's a fucked-up ol' world, ain't it?" She squeezed his hand and moved forward. "Come on Edward, I want to meet your sister." They walked past the end of the annex and onto a gently rolling lawn with post oaks and red oaks dotting the landscape, passing other patients ranging from the catatonic to the very animated being wheeled about by their attendants. At last Tamara saw a short Mexican-American man standing behind a wheelchair up ahead of them. She couldn't see too much because of his position but blonde hair was flying in the gentle breeze and a pair of arms was jerking in every direction. As they got closer Tamara could make out a petulant-sounding wail coming from the woman. Eddy motioned her to silence and walked up behind the attendant. He tapped him on the shoulder, with his finger over his lips. He turned around and after he got over his surprise, smiled. Tamara assumed the attendant was 'Hector'. He moved out of the way and Eddy moved into his place. He leaned down and said, "so what's this I hear about you bein' in a bad mood, li'l girl?" "Eddy?" she cried. He swung the chair around and knelt before her. "Ahyup, sho' 'nuff." Tamara watched the woman in the chair come to life. She could have searched for a better way to describe it for a hundred years and wouldn't have found it. Life, pure and simple, flowed up into her face from somewhere deep inside. "You makin' fun o' the way I talk, Eddy?" "Nope, that's just me bein' uneddicated, same as always." "You not uneddicated, you sma't Eddy." As Tamara watched the two siblings play what was obviously a familiar game, she looked at the small woman in the chair. Rachel's face bore the hallmarks of her mental impairment, but it was evident that if not for that, she would have been a lovely woman. Her blonde hair was thick and lustrous and wavy and her pale blue eyes were striking... especially when they focused on Tamara. "Who she?" Eddy looked back over his shoulder. "That's a very special person in my life. That's the woman I'm going to marry. Her name is Tamara. Would you like to meet her?" "Can I?" "Of course you can, silly girl. Tamara, come on over. Tamara, this blonde angel is my sister, Rachel. Rachel, this beautiful woman is Tamara." "She p'etty, she almos' as big as me, and she got balloons." "Oh, you didn't miss that, did you, she's got balloons? Well, a little bird flew in my window and told me you'd been feeling down and so I knew I'd better bring some balloons." "Gonna fly?" "Gonna fly." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a licorice medallion and popped it in her mouth. "Now if I can get the pretty Tamara to hand me one of the balloons, we'll get started." Tamara handed him one and he tied it very securely to Rachel's left wrist. "Now Rachel, all that bad you got in your head, it's weighin' you down, ain't it?" "Yeah," she said, smiling shyly as she sucked on the candy. "It's like mud and you're stuck in it, ain't ya?" "Yeah." "Alright, I brought eight balloons per arm," he said, motioning for another and then tying it to her right wrist, "and that should be enough to float you up and out of that bad stuff, you think?" "Yeah," she said. "Eddy, could Tam'a tie 'em on?" "Could Tamara tie 'em on? Well I know when I'm not wanted," he said, grinning at his sister, "so I'll just hold those balloons while Tamara gets you ready for take-off... that okay with you, Tamara?" Fighting back the urge to cry at the beauty of Eddy and his sister together, she swallowed hard. "That's fine, Edward, I'd love to help get Rachel ready for take-off." "It's EDDY not Edwa'd... how come you don' know his name?" "Now Rachel, you know it's not polite to correct people by yellin'... and 'Eddy' is short for 'Edward' just like 'Ratbottom' is short for 'Rachel'," Eddy said, smiling at her and stroking her hair. "I'm not 'atbottom!" she proclaimed. "Don't you call me 'atbottom, I'm 'achell! I get Tam'a to spank you, you call me 'atbottom!" "Alright, I won't call you 'Ratbottom'... how about 'Schnicklefritz', can I call you 'Schnicklefritz'?" Tamara was fighting hard not to lose it and break out in laughter as Rachel said, in the tone of a teacher explaining something to a very slow child, "Eddy, my name not 'Shnicklf'itz', not 'atbottom', it 'achel." "So it is... I forgot that for a moment," he replied as Tamara tied the last balloon on. "Okay, you know how this goes. Close your eyes, close 'em tight." Tamara moved out of the way as Eddy got down on his knees and murmured, "now you feel the balloons, lifting your arms up... well let 'em rise, let 'em reach for heaven." He lifted her from her chair as she held her arms straight up over her head. Very carefully, very tenderly he shifted her around until she was sitting on his shoulders. Reaching up with one hand, he took hold of her right arm, then repeated the process to take hold of her left. "Okay Rachel, open your eyes," he said as he slowly got to his feet. "I flyin'!" she shrieked. Tears rolled down Eddy's face but a smile lit his features as he responded, "Yes you are, Rachel, and all that bad got left behind, didn't it?" Oil of Roses Ch. 26 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * Before Niccolo Philouma had a chance to finish his morning bathroom routine, one of his men was at the door. "Phone... it's your father." Ten minutes later he was dressed, had left a note for Susan telling her they'd talk over lunch and was on his way out the door. When Big Vic summoned someone, they went. * * * * * The head of the Philouma crime syndicate looked old. That was Nick's first thought upon entering the kitchen of the house he'd grown up in... his father looked old. "Siddown Nick... have some breakfast." Nick took a seat across the old table that had seen so many smaller, less formal family meals. "Scrambled eggs and bacon... some toast too if it's not too much trouble, Renee," he told the cook. "Like I've forgotten what you eat in the mornings," the old woman replied as she poured him a cup of coffee and put the cream pitcher next to his plate. In a few minutes his food was on the table. It was obvious Renee had known he was coming and started her preparations early. "Alright Renee, get outta here," his father said before having a coughing fit into his napkin. The cook left, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'grouchy son-of-a-bitch' under her breath. Once she was gone and the only sound in the kitchen was Nick eating, Victor Philouma spent several moments leaning back in his chair, gathering his thoughts while he watched his son before finally breaking his silence. "So, you had your brother killed last night. We need to talk about that." To his credit, Nick didn't try to deny it or even act shocked. "How did you know?" "There's very little that goes on in this family that I don't know about, sonny-boy. Let that be a lesson to you. You don't keep your seat atop the shit heap by bein' caught with your pants around your ankles playin' with yourself... or takin' it up the ass from your friend Randy." Nick looked up from his plate, calm and focused. "Are we about to have a fight, Father? If we are, I'll do you the courtesy of allowing you to make the first move." "Yeah, and I'd need it... five years ago, hell, even two years ago, you wouldn't need to be doin' me no courtesies. Now... now you could prolly let me have the first three moves and you'd still put my ass on the floor. And that's part of what this talk is about. "You decided that your brother was a threat to your plans, to those you feel an obligation to... and you decided that I wasn't gonna be able to, or wasn't gonna, control him. So you put him down. "I was hoping that day would never come... that I'd be dead and him along with me before it did... but on the other hand, I hoped something like this would happen, something that would cause you to step up and take the reins out of my hands. You'd do something to let me know you were ready. Otherwise, I was gonna go to my grave hoping you were up to the job instead of knowing you were. "Well, you did that. I can't hold the death of your brother against you... we both know what my plans for the poor stupid fuck were. "And I've got no doubt that if I stand in your way you have something in store for me too." "Yes sir... it would be quick, painless. I almost exercised that option along with taking care of Phil, but decided I could work around you." "Well now you're not going to have to... I made a promise to your godfather Tony that the day you took the reins, I'd let go of them." The old man took off the ring that had rarely left his finger since his own father had put it on him just before he died. It was a simple silver band, widening out to contain a piece of granite with a rough and crude carving of a bird of prey... so rough in fact, that unless someone knew what they were looking at they probably couldn't tell what it was. "Gimme your hand." Nick got up from the table, went to his father and knelt before him. Victor took his son's hand and put the ring on the middle finger of his right hand. "Your great-grandfather hammered this ring out himself, and he carved the stone out of the rock of our homeland, rock that was washed with water from the Mediterranean for thousands and thousands of years. This is Sicily. We carry it with us wherever we go as a reminder of where we came from and what made us what we are. "But as soon as his ship sailed out of the Mediterranean, this little piece of granite got wet with water our family had never known before. This piece of rock got baptized with our family's sweat in New York, in New Jersey, and here in Texas... it's been bathed in the blood of our enemies, and sometimes our friends, and our own blood as well. It's been wet from the rain of this country; it's been pissed on more than once. It's left its imprint on a lot of faces, on a lot of bodies. After Phil's funeral, when those who owe us allegiance kiss it, they're pledging their service not to you, but to the family. You and I will pass away... we only die if the family doesn't survive. Do you understand me?" Nick felt the tears on his face as he answered, "Yes sir." "Good... now then, dry your eyes, blow your nose and go finish your breakfast. We got shit to discuss." As Nick returned to eating, his father continued. "Now then, we're gonna get you married. Don't worry," he went on as Nick began to protest, "she'll know the score. It'll be a marriage of convenience. It won't be the first one this family has known. And you'll have kids... I don't care if you do it the old-fashioned way or use a motherfuckin' turkey baster, you and she will have children and they will be yours. I got a list of women I think might be suitable, we'll go over them later. "I'm plannin' to plant Phil's fat ass day after tomorrow. You'll become head of the Philouma family at that time. Now if it were the old days, we could count on at least a couple of days, out of respect for the dead, before the jackals started shit... now we'll be lucky if the fuckin' Chinese don't hit us at the goddamn funeral with the cock-suckin', meanin' no offense, Russians followin' up with their shit right on the Chinks' heels." "You really think they'll move that fast?" "I dunno... I hope not... but then again, like your Uncle Almora used to say, 'I hope the next cunt I stick my dick in don't gimme the clap but hopin' ain't stopped it none of the times it's happened before.' "Speakin' of your uncles, your Uncle Vincent, he's why I ain't so worried about you and your sexual... appetites." "You mean Uncle Vincent..." "Yeah, scariest motherfucker I've ever known... your godfather told me he'd read in a book about what Vincent was... a socialpath? Something like that..." "A sociopath?" "Yeah, that was it... well, a sociopath, a psychopath or a garden path, I knew there was one man in the whole world I never wanted to cross and that was my brother Vincent... he was never interested in runnin' the family... too much like work. But he was hell on wheels as an enforcer. "It was about three years after I took over, I needed to talk to him, but he was busy and he had everybody so scared of him that no one would take a chance on interruptin' him... so I went over to his apartment to interrupt him myself... never hurt to cater to your Uncle Vincent's ego, have the family head come to him. "Used my key to his place, walked in... there he was, corn-holing this pretty little Neapolitan boy, fresh off the boat, couldn't been no more than nineteen. Well, your Uncle Vincent had this look, cold and dead, like he'd already done you and was just figurin' out what to do with the body. That's the look I was getting' from him. "So I said, 'when you're through, I need to see ya, sorry to disturb ya but it's important' and backed my ass out the door. A couple of days later, I talked to him about it... now granted he wasn't your typical homosexual, but after talkin' to him about it I figured if the most dangerous man I knew was a fag, fags was okay with me. "And when I found out about you, your 'Uncle' Tony, may he rest in peace, was still alive and we talked about it. I was pretty upset at the time... I mean, yeah, I don't have no problem with fags, but this was my son we were talkin' about. I was thinkin' no grandchildren, no family no more... it was Tony that calmed me down, came up with the plan of getting' you married and her pregnant, even if it took the help of modern medicine. "Look Niccolo, I don't understand it, but you've never given me the slightest reason to doubt you got what it takes to run this family, to keep it strong, to help it grow. Now that I'm starin' death in the face, that's all that really matters. And it ain't never stopped me from lovin' you... hell, if I never stopped lovin' your brother, what could you ever do that would make me stop lovin' you?" "Love you too, Dad." * * * * * Over lunch Nicki, Carol and Kelly met with Margo at Rosario's, a little open-air Tex-Mex café. The sotto-voce discussion would have interested the police greatly. "So they're dead?" Nicki asked. "Yes and our friend assures me that I'll be attending my soon-to-be-late husband's funeral before too much longer," Margo replied, smiling through thin and tight lips. "Jesus that's cold... " "Look Nicki, justice is for sale in this country, that's a given. I'm just buying ours on the black market. I would have liked to let the legal system take a crack at this, but at the end of the day, I don't believe our legal system would've given me justice for what they did to your brother. There are too many loopholes, too many ways to manipulate the system, and Benjamin can afford the lawyers to find them all. So I went shopping elsewhere. I told our friend to be fair and just. I believe he has been. If I didn't have complete faith in his ability to get the truth, not what I or anyone else wanted to hear, but the truth, I'd never have asked. This is the best way, maybe the only way, to get justice in this case.". "Remind me not to get you really pissed at me." "That's easy. Don't go out of your way to hurt the people that I love." * * * * * Nick walked back into his suite of rooms to do some thinking and planning before lunch with Susan. If the Philouma family was going to the mattresses, and quite possibly in as little as two days, there were a thousand things to attend to. By the time Susan bounced in, ready for lunch, he'd managed to handle the majority of the really important matters. "Hello Suzie, I'm changing the plan. You'll still be playing a major role, you just won't be finishing the dance... pay is still the same." "Fine with me, I get paid that kind of money I'm not real picky... witness who I fucked last time." "Good point. Listen, here's what I'm thinking..." * * * * * Harry Grimes came back to the land of the conscious mid-afternoon and was not where his last dream had placed him. But then again, he was reasonably sure he wasn't going to wake up on the shores of a great wide ocean of liquid silver watching whales made of stars breach the surface and fly in the air for the sheer joy of it while he discussed the political cartoons of Berkeley Breathed with Jesus Christ, so he wasn't too surprised. The sight which did greet his eyes was a thousand times more beautiful, and more welcome, than any he could have dreamed. Margo, Carol, and Kelly were sitting by his bedside playing three-handed spades on a small table. He watched for a moment as Kelly set Carol and quietly gloated. "Next game... deal me in," he croaked. The three faces he loved best in all the world lit up as the card's dropped to the table, forgotten. "But who's gonna get stuck with your doped-up ass for their partner?" Kelly asked. "I'm finally getting' my skills back, I don't want ya messin' up my game." "Be damned if I'm gonna partner with him," Margo said with a smile. "The gimp probably can't even hold his cards up for more than a few minutes." "Not me," Carol sighed. "I'm just now learning how to play, I don't want to be shackled to the gimp." "Damn... I can feel the love... feels like a kick in the balls," Harry whispered, smiling. "Only if you ask nicely, my love," Margo replied, "and only after you're feeling better. Now, would you like some water, darling?" "Oh yeah." After he had finished sipping some water and being kissed by all present he asked, "So, am I going to live?" "Yes you are, sir," Carol said. "You'll live until we get you home, all healed up and healthy... and then I get to hold you down while Margo and Kelly beat the ever-loving shit out of you. What the fuck was up with that business with the will? Do you really think any of us wanted you risking your health to put us in your will?" "That was the point, it's true," he replied, "but I'm not accepting any beating for it. All the assets of my estate should go to the people who deserve them, not the cum-guzzling dumpster skank I was shackled to for three years." "Alright, fair enough," Margo said, "but what was that shit about not having us woken up so we could be there?" "I wasn't going to be awake all that long. And in case the worst happened, it wasn't how I wanted to be remembered by you." Margo looked at him, love mixing with anger in her eyes as tears leaked from the corners. "Would you prefer I remember you as you were in the park? Would you like my last memory of you to be stretched out on the table in the OR? What last memory of you were you preserving for me?" "Or for Kelly and Nicki and I," Carol said. "Our last memory of you was a mass of red lying in a heap on the ground." Harry managed a weak smile. "Alright, if I admit I was very, very wrong, will you forgive me and write part of my stupidity off to medication and physical condition?" "Forgiven, forgotten and understood, my love," Margo said. "Agreed, my beauties?" Carol and Kelly echoed her sentiments, and then Carol said "Harry, I think we're going to get out of here and let some of the rest of the family come in." She and Kelly very gently hugged and kissed him. As she was straightening back up, Kelly said, "Oh, Harry, you don't have to worry about that whole 'proposing' thing where I'm concerned. Margo and Carol have already done the proposing, most romantically." "And you told them they were crazy?" She looked into his eyes and replied softly, "They're not crazy at all, Harry; not at all... they had it right." Then the beautiful young woman sashayed arm in arm with Carol to the room door, turned and looked back at him. "I said 'yes'." Harry Grimes lay on his bed, dumbfounded. Margo put her hand on his arm in one of the few places she could touch skin and it wouldn't hurt. "Harry, there are things you have an instinctive grasp of... and there are things you should leave up to Carol or me. Evidently, understanding Kelly's and your feelings for each other is something you should leave up to Carol and me." * * * * * "It's good to have him awake," Carol said as they sat in the hospital cafeteria, sipping what could charitably be called coffee. Neither of them was feeling charitable. "Yeah, it's good to have him awake. Now if he was only up and about and able to make coffee because goddamn, this shit sucks... we're gonna have to get a coffeemaker for the room or something... bring the one from the house... I dunno, but this crap is vile," Kelly observed. Carol looked at her wife, seeing and feeling the distress in her. "Kelly, what's wrong? And don't tell me 'nothing' because something's obviously bothering you." "You mean other than the Coffee-That-Corroded-Kansas-City? It's money stuff..." "Are you upset about being included in Harry's will?" "Oh no, not that... well, okay, I'm a little freaked about that, but that's mostly because I'm not real used to thinking of myself as y'all's spouse yet. Hell, I'm not used to the possibility of being anyone's spouse yet. It makes perfect sense, logically, for him to divide the estate between his wives and sister... "It's more that here I am, junior partner in the firm so to speak, Harry's got a career, Margo's got a career, your career is running the household for all of us... God, it sounds strange now that I'm part of 'us' and not just a roommate. But you've got that and then Tony left you the money so you go from being a pet to a pet with means... and here's me, a college student with nothing and not a clue what I want to do with my life. It's fun to be Margo's and your pet, from time to time, but I'm not cut out for a life of it, so I feel like I should at least be able to see a way for me to contribute to the family's financial well-being on the horizon somewhere, but I got no clue." "I don't suppose it would help any if I told you I'm pretty sure none of us have a problem with that at all, would it?" "No, not really... I'd understand if y'all did, but I also can easily see that y'all don't... I have a problem with it. Getting married is grown-up shit. Fuckin' around in college, trying to 'find yourself' isn't." "I tell you what, darling wife-" "Jesus, girl, the chills that go through me when you call me that... keep it up and you'll start something that'll get us thrown out of the cafeteria." "And that would be bad... how? But, point taken... the four of us will sit down and discuss it as soon as Harry's up to it. Between the four of us, I believe we can pretty much solve anything," Carol said, smiling. "Now then, I propose we get out of here and go buy a couple of coffeemakers ... one for the hotel room, one for Harry's room in the hospital and some supplies." "They're not going to let us keep a coffeemaker Harry's room." "With Margo on our side, you wanna bet on it?" "With what money?" "I'll gladly accept a deviant and perverse sex act in lieu of money, beloved wife." "Damn you!" Kelly said, smiling, as the two women got up, linked arms and left the cafeteria. "Hey, while we're out we could stop by the house, pick up a few things." "Sounds good to me." * * * * * Nicki sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, her fingers nervously fumbling with the juice box she'd just finished draining. Finally Harry broke the silence. "Really sorry to fuck up your vacation, Sis." "No, you haven't... wait, I don't mean it that way either, like 'sorry you're in the hospital, gotta run, I'm going out dancing' or anything... it's... I'm... I'm glad I was here. No matter what happened, I needed to be here. I was talking to Tattie... you ending up in here has put a lot of things in perspective for me." Oil of Roses Ch. 26 "Okay, like what?" "Well, I thought I could learn how to live from you, how to put my life first and my job second, then I could go back to Atlanta and do it. But I think I've figured out that I have to have a life to put first... and I don't, certainly not in Atlanta. "Here I think I could have." "I agree... you could have, if that's what you want." She smiled shyly, ducking her head and looking away from his eyes. "So you wouldn't mind having me around?" "Not at all... I'd love it... and I think the rest of the family would as well. So, when are you going to make up your mind?" "You mind me moving into my old room for awhile?" "Nope, was hoping you would. It's yours as long as you want it to be." "What about Margo and the others?" That part was easy. After asking Margo and phoning Carol and Kelly, it was clear no one objected. "Then my mind's made up... I'll phone my editor tonight, call some movers, have them pack the apartment and ship it down here. Hmm, I imagine I'll need to look into a storage room until I find my own place." "Sis, why don't you go back to Atlanta, see to the packing and such yourself?" "Harry, even if I had to leave everything behind, you still couldn't convince me to go back to Atlanta... can you understand that?" "No, but you can, and that's good enough for me." * * * * * After greeting the workmen and Janet, the woman Eddy had house-sitting for them, Carol and Kelly were making a pass through the house for the little things they hadn't thought of when they'd been home to grab stuff the night Nick took them out to supper. "Sweetheart?" said Kelly. "Yes love?" answered Carol. "Have you ever thought that as often as we are stuck in a hotel somewhere that maybe we ought to just keep bags and a box of essentials, like a coffee machine and such packed and in a closet somewhere so all we have to do is grab them the next time we end up taking off for awhile?" "Uh, no, no Kelly, I hadn't thought of that... besides, how often is something like this going to happen?" She felt Kelly's stare and turned around to look at her bride. "Okay, it seems to have happened to us a little more often than some people might think usual," she said, somewhat defensively, "but come on, do you really think it's necessary to prepare ahead of time like that?" "Maybe not... but if it happens one more time, my answer will become an automatic 'yes, it IS necessary'." "Fine honey, but what are the odds, really?" "With us? I doubt another three months will pass before we're doin' this shit again for some reason or other." "Willing to put some deviant sexual behavior where your mouth is?" "Fine, you're on... and if I win?" "Well, what do you want if you win?" She laughed. "Let me think on that... but consider the bet made, subject to your agreement to what I want from you as your part of the wager."" "Fine." The two of them kissed to seal the deal. * * * * * To anyone casually watching, the initial conversation between Harry, Eddy and Tamara never happened. And to someone watching very carefully, it still could have been easily missed. A raised eyebrow from Harry as Eddy grasped his good hand, Eddy's eyes darting to Tamara, her very faintly whispering "Nick found them, Edward took care of them" as she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. But even though that conversation would probably have been missed by all but the most acute observer, no one could have missed Eddy holding on to his best friend's hand for the rest of their visit. No one could have missed the look of affection on Harry's face, or the tenderness in both their voices as they talked. Eddy told Harry and Margo about Rachel, and with Tamara's help explained why he'd kept her a secret. Margo looked at Eddy as she dried her eyes. "Eddy," she said, "you're one big silly sumbitch, aren't you?" "Yeah he is," Harry said. "Honey, could you get this for me?" Margo dried Harry's face with a wad of tissues. "Hell, Harry, I woulda let you have your hand back," Eddy said, moving to release his grip. Harry held on all the harder. "No you don't... that hand is fine right the fuck where it is... did you honestly think that an accident that happened when you were nine was going to change the way I feel about you?" "Why not? It changed the way my father felt about me." Margo said, "Eddy, your father is too wrapped up in his own pain, in his own sense of loss... he's never dealt with what 'is'... he just keeps focusing on what 'is not' anymore. It's cost him his two children, and I suspect his wife through a lot of their later years together. That he blames you is evident, but that doesn't make it right, or his viewpoint valid... it just makes him another victim of what happened that day. Although your sister will always be scarred by what happened that day, it doesn't sound like she's remained a victim of it. "So it would seem to me, Eddy, you have two examples to choose from... your father, who's remained a victim for 22 years, or your sister, who hasn't. She's happy, he's not. She loves and laughs and gives, he doesn't. I know which of the two I want you to be like." "She's right, sir. You can't undo all those years in a day, or a week, or a month... but you can start," Tamara said, holding onto his arm. "It's time you started forgiving yourself and letting yourself heal." "And you know that all of us will be here for you, just like you've been here for us," Harry said. The door opened and the senior nurse on duty walked in, sleek and lean like a jungle predator with wrinkles and a frown. "Dr. Wohler... you should know better. Visiting hours were over quite some time ago... this patient needs his rest. You two, out," she said, pointing at Eddy and Tamara. "And as for you, Mr. Grimes, you're going to sleep now, whether you want to or not!" "Would it help your mood any, Nurse Fletcher, if I said that the visitors I've had tonight have soothed my heart and mind more than I can explain? You won't need to dose me, I'll go to sleep like a good boy." "Well you're going to take a sleeping pill anyway. And I'm half a heartbeat away from having you take one as well, Dr. Wohler." "You don't need to, I'll be asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow." Tamara and Eddy made their good-byes and after Harry took his sleeping pill Nurse Fletcher left as well. "If I don't see you passing my desk on your way out in five minutes, Dr. Wohler," she said before closing the door, "Dr. Lowry will hear about it." "Don't worry, you will," Margo said, smiling. "Honey, got to go or 'Nurse Ratched' will call out the hounds... Karen and Patricia will be in tomorrow, Tattie too and God knows who all else... sleep well. We love you." "Love y'all too..." Harry was asleep before she was out the door. * * * * * The big-titted blonde that had been aimed at Benjamin Sapperstein like a torpedo had done her job well. He'd been well and truly fucked, then slipped a little something. He was asleep and it would take a twenty-one-gun salute accompanied by a brass band to wake him up. The two men who circumvented the house's security system and came inside weren't going to be nearly that loud. Wearing their dark over-the-shoes slippers, gloves, and hairnets, they first swept the house for electronic listening devices and cameras, then one of them spent a lot of the evening taking photos, while the other studied Benjamin's computer very carefully. And when they were through, they removed practically all traces of their visit, electronic and otherwise. It would take far more effort than anyone was going to expend to find evidence that they'd been there at all. * * * * * "This is breakfast?" Harry asked, looking at his breakfast tray in dismay. "Yes, Mr. Grimes, that's breakfast. Now, eat it all and I'll be back by for your tray in a bit." The pleasant hospital employee pushed her rolling rack of distressed foodstuffs down the hall. "I think I've figured out the stratagem of hospital food," Harry said to himself, "it's so bad that it urges you to heal more quickly just to get away from it." "It's a widely held theory, but I've never been able to get any kind of confirmation from the kitchen staff. They just look at me with pleasant, smiling faces, repeat the 'it's nutritionally sound' mantra and walk away," said Dr. Lowry from the door. "But I think someone's been following me ever since I asked so I'm not going to dig too much deeper." "Afraid you'll end up part of the menu?" Harry replied. "No, nothing like that... I'm afraid what they'll do to my food should I ever be a patient here... or if the conspiracy is as big as I think, anywhere else. I'd hate to risk it. Go to the hospital a doctor with questions; come out a manual laborer with no questions, find out my wife and children don't recognize me anymore... scary thoughts." "You realize you're quite insane," Harry said, moving the supposed scrambled eggs around on his plate. "You call it insanity," Dr. Lowry replied as he checked Harry's chart, "I prefer to think of it as heightened sense of awareness. My wife calls it watching too much 'Twilight Zone' as a child. Now then, Mr. Grimes, looks like you had a quiet evening and a good night. "Let's talk about how you're feeling now, aside from the nausea that always accompanies breakfast here..." * * * * * The house wasn't perfect, if Karen were to be truthful. The two secondary bedrooms were a bit too small, the kitchen needed to be expanded and redone, and the roof was going to need replacing in the next three to four years. But Karen loved it, and Patricia felt the same. The greenhouse/conservatory/solarium that had been added on in the back was large and lovely. Patricia had organized the room in her mind. Shelves for plants and pots for plants and hooks for hanging planters, room for her a chair to read or knit in and room for Karen to work with her weights. The master bedroom was, if anything, a little larger than they required, but that was fine as Karen had been wanting to move up to a big screen plasma television and home theater system. If that went in the bedroom, as they wanted it to, the extra space would quickly get eaten up by attendant electronics and their collection of movies. What problems there were with the house were all reparable with money and money wasn't an issue... although after everything was said and done, it was going to take all of Karen's savings to buy the house and have the work done. That was fine... she'd been saving it for something really special. And as the two of them went over with the realtor what had to be done before they could close on the house, Karen felt Patricia squeeze her hand and realized there was nothing she could think of that would be more special than this. * * * * * Tatiana Turov sat in the surprisingly comfortable chair in Harry's room and peered over her glasses at him. "You, young man, got fucked up." Harry chuckled and as the chuckle turned to laughter immediately regretted it. "Ow! Goddamn it, Tattie, don't make me laugh... hurts too much." A look of horror covered her face. "Oh shit Harry, I'm sorry," she said, "I wasn't thinkin'." "It's okay, if I lived through the fight I can live through laughing," he said. "So, between you, me and the bedpost, how's everyone doing?" "Well, your wives, fiancés, lovers... humpalicious honeys, whatever you call them-" "Laughter, Tattie!" "Sorry. They're doing fine. I was afraid I'd have to be den mother to a crew of emotional wrecks... instead I find myself without much to do... other than talk with Nicki. She doesn't really have a place in your group, she didn't have time to find one or make one before all this happened." "Then I'm glad you're here... I hadn't really thought about that side of it... everybody clinging to each other, but no real place for her." "I think we can excuse you for not thinking about your sister too much in the last few days, and I imagine she'll find a place soon enough, with her movin' down and all... but it's been a little lonely for her. I'm glad I've been here for her too." "Well, I'm sure the family has enjoyed seeing more of you, even if they have been kind of clannish. Hope they haven't seemed rude but I imagine they've been a little distracted." "Overall y'all've made this old woman feel right at home and I want you to know I truly do appreciate it... I'd rather be visitin' with y'all than listenin' to Peter lie to me." She looked out the window and Harry watched her attention focus on something he couldn't see. "It really fuckin' blows" she said "to be alone when there's someone right there with you..." "You know you're welcome anytime, Tattie..." "Yeah..." she replied, her attention still a million miles away, "I only see one small problem." "What's that?" "When the time comes to shuck clothes and get crazy," she said, peering over her glasses at him, "I'm a fifth wheel." "Well, I guess you could play it by ear, or return to your hippie roots and not give a shit, get naked, take a hit off the pipe and relax, or leave when the party started getting a little too risqué for your tastes... whatever you're comfortable with is what you do, Tattie. You know that's the rule around us." "Yeah, I know," the older woman said, smiling at him. "Just doesn't hurt to be reminded from time to time. So y'all wouldn't have a problem with me bein' there?" "No, we'd worry about you feeling left out, and that might put a damper on things, but you've become family, you're always welcome." Tatiana Turov sat back in the chair, looking at Harry with puzzlement plain upon her face. "Why?" "Why what?" Harry replied. "Why have I become 'family'? This week I felt like I had and God knows I've been acting like I am... I'm just curious as to why." "Tattie, every one of us would probably have our own answer to that, so I can only really speak for myself. As far as I was concerned, you became family the moment Carol's face lit up when she saw you the night of Tony's wake. When just the sight of you coming in the door could lift my Baby Girl's spirits that much, that night of all nights... you were family. You were obviously someone pretty damn special." "And that's all it took?" "Ahyup. But if you need more, consider this. What was the first thing you did when you heard we had trouble? You dropped everything and showed up here. That's family. "Lemme tell ya a story. The best Christian I've ever known was my World History professor in college, Dr. Hoong Bak... although he professed to be a Zen Agnostic Pagan and all us students joked about nominating him as the first Zen Saint. We made jokes like 'what was the sound of his first miracle happening?' 'Johnson passed the final'. 'If Harry's grade point average falls, but he's not there to hear it because we've already killed him because he's so annoying, does it make a sound?' 'Every man faces three paths with each step he takes, the path of right thinking and right action, the path of wrong thinking and wrong action, and the road to World War II.' That was because of Dr. Bak's oft-voiced assertion that most of the 18th and all of the 19th and 20th centuries up to the outbreak of hostilities were inevitably leading to World War II. "But we used to get into discussions in his class about everything, whether it was related directly to world history or not. And quite often, these discussions would be continued in the evening at he and his wife's house where there'd be a big pot of veggie something-or-other, , the wine was flowing, and somebody was probably firin' up a joint out back from time to time. And there was always someone there they were helping, giving them a place to sleep for awhile, helping them get back on their feet, hiding a mother and her children from her abusive husband. The house was always full to the brim with people. He said it was his and his wife Callie's obligation to themselves to help anyone who needed it. "He always impressed me by walking the walk. I never heard of or observed someone asking for his help and not getting it. I asked him about it one night, how he could just blindly help people, based on nothing more than their word that they truly needed help, how he could bring them into his home, feed them, shelter them, clothe them. Didn't he worry about getting ripped off, or assaulted, or killed? "He told me that they had been ripped off, and they had been assaulted. But what had been stolen from them were just objects, and the wounds were only physical. He and his wife wouldn't let the loss of 'things' or those wounds touch them any deeper, wouldn't let them scare them into stopping living their lives the way they felt they should. He said as long as they walked the world with love in their heart for all mankind, every person was innocent until proven guilty, and after being proven guilty was worthy of forgiveness and a second chance. And that if someday they were killed by someone they were trying to help, that the Universe taking back something it had only loaned them for a short time in the first place. "I'm nowhere near that saintly, but I figured that I could look at the world with suspicion and fear and hate, or I could look at it with joy and wonder... and I know which makes me happier. Looking at you with joy and wonder showed me a new member of my family... who am I to fuck around with what works?" "You, sir, are a goddamn fruitcake... and I'm glad you are. So what do you think your first miracle will be?" Harry laughed and continued to laugh through his grimaces of pain. "I already told you," he said, when he caught his breath, "I'm nowhere near that saintly... but our Carol? Her list of miracles is already long and impressive. She's clearly the family saint, not me." * * * * * "We're buying Mrs. Sattler's house." Harry's cheer lacked some enthusiasm as his lower back was bothering him quite a bit on his left side, but Carol's and Kelly's made up for it. "Harry, I was thinking," Karen said. "Always dangerous," quipped Patricia. "Keep it up, honey, and I'll choose the interior color scheme of the house..." "Oh God, no... I'll be good!" "Anyway, as I was saying before my love interrupted me, I was thinking we could start carpooling into work together, being as how we'll be living in shouting distance of each other... and not loud shouts at that." "Makes sense to me," Harry said, wincing. "Of course, that'll expose me to your foul temper first damn thing in the day, but I imagine that if Patricia can survive it, I can too." "Oh, after you get some coffee and food in her, Liz isn't that bad," Patricia said, a worried look on her face. "Harry, you seem to be having some pain, do I need to call a nurse or something?" "That won't be necessary," Dr. Lowry said from the door. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you all to leave for a bit, give me some time with Harry." * * * * * Back at the hotel, Carol, Kelly, and Nicki sat around the suite Margo had rented and talked. Karen, Patricia and Tatiana were off looking at the house again. Patricia had asked Tatiana to help her with choosing a new interior color scheme. Margo was spending the morning at the clinic covering for one of the other physicians and had an appointment with her psychologist that afternoon. "Any idea what could be going wrong with him?" Nicki asked. "Well, he'd been complaining about his lower back, left side... where they shredded his kidney. I'm thinking maybe something to do with that, but that's just a guess based on what I've heard," Carol replied. "Dr. Lowry will call us as soon as he knows anything." Oil of Roses Ch. 26 "You mean he's finally realized Margo's not the only person he can talk to?" Kelly said, a touch of sarcasm in her voice. "Now, that's not fair. She's a colleague and she's 'officially' the bride-to-be... explaining the rest of all this could be difficult," Carol said. "And time-consuming," Nicki said, chuckling. * * * * * Hal Stallings hadn't been surprised when Margo Wohler-Sapperstein called him and asked for an appointment. They'd been friendly acquaintances for years and he was one of the silent majority who were of the opinion her soon to be ex-husband was a pestilent boil on the buttocks of humanity. The rumor mill had been going hot, heavy and hard about her leaving Benjamin; her new lover, or if the more extreme whisperings were to be believed, lovers; the brutal attack on her lover or lovers in the park. With all that going on, Dr. Stallings was expecting that her to need the services of a psychologist at some point, and he figured she'd call him. He was so sure of it, in fact, that he'd made sure his receptionist knew to put through Margo's call no matter what he was in the middle of when she called. She'd called, he'd agreed to come in on a Saturday afternoon to see her and she'd come in and talked... and talked... and talked. There were several interesting blank spots in her story where he suspected she'd left out things she didn't want to chance anyone else knowing, no matter how secure 'doctor/patient' confidentiality was supposed to be, but overall he was pretty sure he'd gotten the whole story and that she was being as truthful as her subjective view of events allowed her to be. They paused around 2:45 for restroom breaks and coffee. Dr. Stallings used the time to ask her some questions that weren't strictly of a doctor/patient nature. * * * * * Author's note: this is, in reality, part one of the Chapter That Would Not Stop Growing. It was split into pieces so that it could be posted for my readers in a somewhat timelier manner, as well as not overrun the post size limits of some sites. My apologies for the abrupt ending. Oil of Roses Ch. 27 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * Even with the worries over the pain in Harry's lower back, the young women were feeling a sense of relief, an easing of the worry and fear they'd been living under since the attack. They were finally convinced that given time to heal, Harry was going to be okay. The men that had hurt him had been dealt with and no one had any doubt that Benjamin Sapperstein was living on borrowed time. Nicki'd gone to take a nap, so Carol and Kelly had wasted no time getting naked and falling into each other's arms . In a warm post-coital glow they had grabbed a quick shower and 'Princess' was massaging her Mistress when the phone rang. "Princess, hand me my phone." "Yes ma'am." "Hello Margo, what's up? Oh, just giving the new girl a work-out... yes, she's very sweet." "Thank you Mistress." "Quiet, Princess... uh, okay... that's an odd thing for your psychologist to ask, isn't it? "Alright, if he and his wife want to go it alone, they can try looking around in 'Whips & Clips' down at Industrial and 8th. It's sort of the touristy club for bondage and domination, not a whole lot of S & M, despite the name of the place. They'll definitely find some toys that are willing to play with novices, but the pets will probably be novices themselves in which case the whole experience could end up very unsatisfactorily or they'll get hustled by some unscrupulous fucktards. I really wouldn't recommend it. "If they're willing to wait and go in with me as a guide, possibly Tamara as well, you and Kelly, Eddy... hell, if they're content to wait even longer I'd love Harry to go with us, I can take them somewhere they're much more likely to find someone they'll have a positive experience with. "Alright my love, talk to you when you get here." "If I may inquire, Mistress, what was that about?" "After relaying the story of her recent past to Dr. Stallings, her psychologist, he's interested in him and his wife shopping for a pet or pets for themselves. He wanted some recommendations for places to go shopping, as it were." There was a knock at the room door. "Who is it?" Carol called out. "Nicki," came the muffled reply. "Well, if she's in for a penny she's in for a pound," Carol murmured to herself. "Princess, go open the door for her." Nicki's eyes widened as the door to the suite opened and she was motioned inside by a naked Kelly, still damp from her shower, who appeared to be without any self-consciousness whatsoever and in absolutely no hurry to close the door. "Come in, Nicki, I'm just giving Mistress a massage," Kelly said as she padded back to the bed, stopping to pick up the bottle of massage oil from the ice bucket where she'd had it warming in hot water. Carol rolled her head to one side and looked up at Nicki. "Hey, thought you were going to nap?" "Tried to," Nicki said as she curled up in the chair, hugging her knees to her chest, "but as soon as I closed my eyes, my brain started going a mile a minute. Stuff about the move, mostly." "Damn, I hate when that happens," Carol murmured as Kelly poured a line of oil down her back. The scent of roses filled the room. Carol smiled at the memories the smell brought to her. She turned her head a bit and peered at Nicki. "Sister, relax, your body English is just screaming 'tension'. If you're going to live at the house, naked bodies are something you're going to see a whole lot of." "I know... it's just... oh, what the fuck!" Nicki got up, went to the impromptu bar, poured herself a large Jack Daniels, downed it, and stripped off her clothes. Naked, she returned to her chair and forced herself to sit in a more relaxed position. "You're right, Carol, if I'm going to be around, I need to get over my issues about this kind of thing." In a sickeningly sweet cornpone voice, Kelly said, "Welcome to the naked side of 'family', sugah!" As Nicki snorted out laughter, Carol turned beneath Kelly and pulled her down to her, kissing her deeply. Kelly relaxed into the kiss after only a second's hesitation, molding her body to her wife's, the two of them sliding along each other, finding the perfect fit between their two lovely forms. After the kiss broke, Kelly sat up. Carol looked up at her lover. "Kelly, you can't ever know how glad I am that you agreed to marry us, but I'm looking forward to spending my life trying to show you." Nicki wouldn't have believed that the black woman's beautiful nipples could crinkle any tighter, but they did. "Mistress, if you keep saying things like that, Miss Nicki will get more of a show than she might be ready for." A gentle warmth and a pleasant tingle of anticipation she hadn't felt in a long time let Nicki know that perhaps she was more ready for that show than Kelly and Carol thought, but she said nothing. "You're right, Princess, back to my massage!" As Carol turned over yet again beneath Kelly, Nicki relaxed into another, more natural position in the chair, half-sprawled across one arm. "So Carol, from what Harry told me I know that you're his and Margo's pet but you're dominant around Kelly some of the time and that Kelly is submissive to you and Margo, but apparently not Harry, Margo is usually dominant but she has a minor submissive streak as well... who the fuck decides who's what and when?" "Well, for starters, right now Kelly's need to be submissive is stronger than my need to be submissive... a lot of very strange stuff has happened to my beautiful Princess in a very short amount of time. That's left her feeling 'out-of-control', and there are two ways to handle that, by putting yourself 'in control' or letting go. She's decided to 'let go' for awhile, and that's fine with me, and with Margo, Kelly's earned that right a thousand times over. There's a remarkable sense of freedom in voluntary slavery to someone you love and who loves you in return. You have the illusion of not being responsible for anything. You don't make decisions, or at least any important ones, they're made for you by people who cherish you. You don't worry about things, as you have no control, no say-so, no opinion... you just relax into service. Oh, there are generally lines you won't cross, things you won't do, but in a good relationship you already know it's highly unlikely you'll get anywhere near those, so you can relax and be irresponsible. All you have to do is please someone, and as you love them and care about them, that's not at all difficult. When it's time for you to do something, you'll be told, or you'll have a schedule. You're taken care of, and all you have to do in return is serve. "The freedom to be submissive is a gift you give someone out of love. If Margo walked in right now and needed to be submissive, Kelly and I would go dominant because we love her and that's what she needs. Likewise, if she was here in her usual headspace, which is sort of maternal dominant, and felt the need, we'd both go sub, or I'd relax into submissive and Kelly and Margo could both use me, whatever felt right to the participants at the time. Then there's 'Complete and Total Ice Bitch' mode, which she's played in a role-playing fantasy of mine once and made me and Harry so hot and bothered it was damn near 'Race to the Rape', although I doubt Margo would've put up any fight at all. If she showed up in that headspace, I suspect Kelly and I both would be gleefully groveling on the floor, doing whatever she told us to for just the chance to please her." Kelly's squirming as she sat astride Carol's thigh gave Nicki and Carol a pretty clear idea of her reaction to that possibility. "What happens if someone wants to be dominant and no one wants to be submissive?" Nicki asked, getting up to make herself another, weaker, drink. "That's one of the advantages of having a serious submissive as one of the members of the relationship," Carol said as Kelly began to oil the cheeks of her ass. "It truly is an effort for me to play 'dominant'... although at the moment... mmm... it's certainly a happy place to be." "Looks like," Nicki said admiringly. Carol raised herself up on her elbows. "Want a massage? I'm sure Princess wouldn't mind, would you dear?" "No Mistress, not at all," Kelly replied, moistening her lips. If Nicki Grimes had had quite a bit more to drink, she'd have been able to claim later that she didn't really know what she was doing. But she did know, and she didn't want to avoid responsibility for anything that might, or might not, happen due to her actions. "Sure," she said, moving to the bed and lying face down next to Carol. "It'll take a few moments for me to heat the oil up again, please forgive the delay," Kelly said, heading towards the sink to run more hot water into the ice bucket. "Not a problem," Nicki replied. "So, to continue our conversation," Carol said, turning her head to face her, "I foresee a much more likely problem where everyone is in a submissive mood and no one's feeling particularly dominant... and in that circumstance, it'll be my duty, as the true submissive in the group, to serve the desires of my master and mistresses and play the dominant, whether I feel like it or not." "Wouldn't that be a problem for you, if you weren't in that headspace at all?" asked Nicki. "No, like I told Harry, I'm an actress... it's part of the job description, so to speak. Remember, my purpose is to serve so I'd put on a very convincing performance and although my emotional needs might have to take a temporary back seat to the rest of the household's, my physical needs would be met most thoroughly... I'd be in the perfect position to insure it." "Makes sense when you look at it that way," Nicki said, chewing on her bottom lip. "So right now, Kelly is sort of hiding, or taking a vacation from responsibility." "Yes ma'am," Kelly replied, coming back in from the bathroom. "And I'm loving every minute of it. My life was feeling like I was trying to steer a rollercoaster... and that's blatantly impossible. Right now, I feel like I've, for the moment, just accepted that, thrown up my hands and shrieked 'wheeeee'! "Of course, I also enjoy a lot of the punishment parts, so I guess it's a good thing I'm such a bad girl," she added, grinning mischievously. Out of sight of Nicki, she cocked an eyebrow at Carol, then ran her eyes up and down Nicki's naked body, licking her lips. Carol barely raised both eyebrows in return, as if to say 'play it by ear'. The beautiful woman poured a line of warm oil down the length of Nicki's back. Nicki was startled by the oil, and by Kelly's hands spreading it over her skin, stroking down onto the sides of her breasts as if they'd done this a thousand times before, but she forced herself to relax. Carol resumed talking to her to help the process. "It's kind of funny, Nicki. That's the same massage oil I used on your brother, first night, or rather morning, that I was with him." "He told me a little about that first encounter, but I don't recall anything about a massage." "It wasn't exactly a massage. He was pretty hung-over, in spite of my ministrations... it wasn't like I could see evidence of intra-cranial bleeding, but loud noises were definitely a bad idea and he was moving real slow. I was giving him sort of a sponge-bath, direly needed with as much alcohol as he was sweating out and we were talking. When I got around to washing his cock, well, it produced a reaction-" "I imagine it would," Nicki said, with just a hint in her voice that Carol washing her crotch might produce a similar state of excitement. "-and I felt obligated to banish what I had summoned. So I used that oil as lubricant to give him a hand job." "No, no he definitely didn't mention that, I'd have remembered if he had," Nicki said. Something in her voice had Carol's brain twitching... she couldn't tell if the excitement she felt in Nicki's voice and reaction was due to the fantasy of Carol pleasuring Nicki, or something else but something definitely had the woman excited. Carol's eyes shifted to Kelly but she was innocently working the oil into Nicki's mid-back. She caught Kelly's eye and mouthed 'go for it'. Kelly nodded. "If you'll excuse me, Nicki dear, I need to go make a phone call or two, but I'll leave you in Princess' capable hands... and other body parts as well. And then you'll be in both of ours... at least until Margo gets back. Then I'm afraid you'll be at the mercy of the three of us." The smile that flickered across Nicki's face left no doubt that she was okay with that fate. After Carol had gotten up and grabbed her phone, she turned just before leaving the room. Nicki's eyes were locked onto her, at ass level. When she was insured privacy, she called Tatiana. "Tattie? Yeah, looks like the three of us, probably the four of us, once Margo gets back, might be busy for a little while. Feel like playing hostess? "You are a life saver, Tattie. Love you, talk to you later." She dialed Margo's number, expecting it to kick over to voicemail. She was right. "Margo, when you finish with Dr. Stallings... well, things are getting interesting between Nicki, Kelly and I. You know how you always tell everybody to trust my instincts, well, they're telling me this is a good thing. Her interest seems to pretty much spike on all three of us so come on in when you get back." She returned to the bedroom to find Kelly straddling Nicki's back, facing her feet. Kelly's feet were tucked under Nicki's armpits to either side of her face. Nicki was holding them tightly against her as Kelly ran her oily hands forwards and back over Nicki's ass and legs, slowing down to pay special attention to running her thumbs thoroughly down and between Nicki's ass cheeks. Carol could see the slow and rhythmic twitching of Kelly's cunt on Nicki's back. As she got closer she saw that Nicki was kissing and sucking on the instep of Kelly's foot. "I walk out of the room for a few moments and look what I come back to... my wife seducing my sister." "Oh, like you didn't see that happening before you left," said Nicki, pausing in her oral assault on Kelly's foot. Something in her voice and the cadence of her speech brought both Kelly and Carol up short. Kelly turned and looked at Carol. "Damn, she sounds like Harry." "Yeah, no doubt whose sister she is," Carol responded. "If she wasn't so sexy, I'd find it a little creepy," Kelly said before returning to her massage of Nicki's butt. Carol opened the window a crack, and then sat down in front of Nicki, her legs casually open, exposing herself fully to her sister while she loaded the small pipe they'd brought from the house. Lighting the pipe and drawing a deep lungful of smoke, she waited and exhaled, then drew in another mouthful and squatted in front of Nicki, bringing their lips together. Nicki's mouth opened without hesitation and Carol passed the smoke to her, along with a thrusting tongue and a firm kiss. Nicki managed to keep the smoke down, fighting back the urge to cough as Carol nuzzled her ear and whispered, "I'll be right back, I have to go take care of our serving girl". "Open wide, wench," she said as she prepared to draw in another mouthful of smoke. Kelly looked at her bride-to-be and said "I love you, Mistress" as she opened her mouth just in time for Carol to press their lips together, sharing the mouthful of smoke. "I love you too, Princess," Carol replied after they'd released their breaths. "And just as I can't wait to marry Harry and Margo, I can't wait to marry you." Kelly crawled forward, almost as if against her will, and forced Carol down across the head of the bed, laying her body over Carol's as she wrapped one hand behind Carol's head and firmly planted the other in Carol's crotch. Nicki disentangled herself and rolled over to watch as Kelly, like an unstoppable force, kissed and fondled her Mistress as Carol struggled to get free. Carol's hand was holding out the pipe, motioning towards Nicki, so she leaned in and took it, allowing Carol to use both hands to fend off her amorous slave. Finally Carol managed to get a hand into the hair at the back of Kelly's head and pull her away. "Bad girl, very bad girl, Princess!" "Mistress, when you say things like what you said about marrying me, it's very hard for me to control myself." "So I noticed... so Nicki noticed... well Nicki, how do you think we should punish this wench?" "Uh... I really don't... um..." "Don't worry, sweetie, if you make a suggestion that's not appropriate, Princess and I will artfully steer around it, you're not really being put on the spot." "Okay... is a spanking appropriate?" "That girl just wants to get her hands on my ass," Kelly said, grinning. "You don't have to wait for a reason," she continued, shifting herself closer to Nicki, "you can touch me there anytime you want to." "PRINCESS!" "Yes Mistress," Kelly said, sliding into a curled up position, her hair still held in Carol's fist. "That's quite enough of that. Yes Nicki, I think a spanking is very appropriate, as are a few other punishments as well, but I'm going to need your help. We're working without a lot of the equipment we have at the house, so I'll need you to restrain her." And so it was that Kelly ended up lying down on top of Nicki, facing in the opposite direction. Nicki's torso poked up between Kelly's legs and she'd wrapped her arms around the victim-du-jour's legs, locking her hands together to make sure Kelly's legs couldn't easily get free. Kelly's arms were bound together underneath Nicki's legs with silk scarves. "Exactly why is it again you need my help restraining her?" Nicki asked, smiling lasciviously. Carol laughed, "Other than the sheer erotic kick of using one person to restrain another? No real reason, although I get the feeling you're not objecting too strenuously?" Nicki could feel Kelly writhing atop her, breasts pressed against Nicki's legs, each heaving breath of Kelly's causing her beautiful ass to move and the shifts in her position bringing the aroma of Kelly's arousal drifting up to her nose. "Not objecting at all, Carol. Now, shall we proceed to punish this willful girl?" "In a moment," she said and went to kneel down face to face with Kelly. "You remember your safe word?" Kelly nodded. "Alright then, don't be afraid to use it. This is a game, it should be fun for everyone. If it's not fun for you, then we have a problem that we need to fix, okay?" Oil of Roses Ch. 27 "Yes Mistress." "Good girl." "Alright, Nicki, first lesson in slave management... remember that if you hear her utter the word 'pomegranate', or in case her voice is muffled any set of sounds that resemble 'pomegranate', or barring that if she snaps her fingers or claps her hands three times in rapid succession, you... Stop... immediately. You stop everything and if she's bound or restrained or gagged, you get her out of it, immediately." She went back to the other end of the bed, picked up the paddle, leather on one side, fur on the other, and raised it, leather side down. "Call out the count, Princess." "Yes Mistress." The first swat was light, almost playful, but they increased in severity, slowly, gradually, until with number six Kelly responded "Six, pomegranate!" With that, Carol eased back the severity several notches for the remaining four swats and after the tenth had fallen began to run the furry side of the paddle gently over Kelly's reddened bottom. For Nicki, it had been one of the most oddly erotic experiences of her life. She had seen sex shows of every variety, most in pursuit of a story she'd done on the sex club industry, she'd gone to strip clubs and gotten lap dances from both genders, but nothing had been so primally erotic as watching Kelly be spanked scarcely a foot in front of her face while she held her down. Kelly's body, squirming against hers in a dance of pain and pleasure, their sweat and the smells of their arousal mingling together in a palpable fog around them... combined with her somewhat lowered inhibitions, it was more than she felt it necessary to resist. As Carol continued to caress Kelly's ass with the paddle, Nicki quickly released her hold on Kelly's legs and shifted from over and around to under and supporting Kelly's body above her until Kelly's knees came down to take most of the load. Her re-positioning completed, Nicki said, "Eat me, Princess." "Yes ma'am... what should I call you, ma'am." With that Kelly began to tease her way around the edges of Nicki's cunt. "Is 'Mistress' acceptable to you, Nicki?" Carol asked. "Um hmm," Nicki squeaked in agreement, wriggling in an attempt to bring the lovely woman's teasing tongue more firmly in contact with her aching clit. "You will refer to her as Mistress Nicki, Princess," Carol said. "Yes Mistress," Kelly replied, breaking briefly from her torturous attentions to Nicki's twitching cunt. Kelly began to huff her warm breath over Nicki's mound, her nose brushing the tips of her pubic hair as her breath flowed throughout the mat of hair. The whimper Nicki made was quite audible. Her fingernails raked gently down Kelly's sides and her squirming dance continued. "Nicki is there something wrong," Carol asked, breathing the words huskily into her ear. "Yes... she won't... she just... she's teasing me!" "Second lesson, if you're not in control of your slave, you're the bitch, not her. Right now, you're not in control of your slave. Remembering the first lesson, get control of your slave." "Kelly, I asked you to eat me..." Nicki said hesitantly. "Nicki, are you forgetting the dynamic? Get control of your slave." "But Carol, what if I do something wrong?" "Then we'll hear the safe word or signal and you'll stop and everything will be fine. Until then, have fun... this is a game. Play with us," Carol said, caressing her sister's belly. Through all of their conversation Kelly had continued to tease Nicki, occasionally giving her the barest taste of what she craved by flicking the very tip of her clitoris with her tongue. In her mind, Nicki thought back to her fuck-buddy Georgina in Atlanta... she was always so assured and confident, always in control... Nicki's hand snaked between their bodies, her hand curling up behind Kelly's head. "Slut, I said 'eat me' not 'tease me'. And I didn't intend for you to take your good sweet time with it either, slut. I meant now." She forced Kelly's head down into her crotch and the girl's talented tongue immediately made itself at home all up and down Nicki's warm slit. "Oh... that's much... better... slut." She took her other hand, moved it into position and locked her fingers behind Kelly's head, pushing her cunt into Kelly's face, riding her mouth and tongue like a cock. Carol curled up next to her, playing with her hair with one hand while caressing her with the other. "Now, you're no longer the bitch in this situation, Nicki... very good. Now a question, sister... do you like it rough, or gentle?" "Gentle... unless otherwise noted... like our little slut... is finding out... right now." Kelly had brought her arms in tight against Nicki's sides, wrapping her hands around the blonde woman's slender ass, massaging her ass cheeks forcefully, while she nibbled and kissed and licked and bit and sucked on whatever was thrust into her mouth at the moment. Carol reached over and tilted Nicki's head to the side, bringing their lips together, before shifting her hand back down to stroke the small, pert breasts that adorned Nicki's chest. The two women's tongues slithered around each other until Carol pulled back and looked at Nicki admiringly. "Whoa... damned glad to make your acquaintance, sister." Nicki blushed. "So, how are you doing?" Carol continued. "Almost there... but can't quite... do you have a vibrator... or a dildo... something she could... use on me?" "Oh, we have better than that. Let her up, Nicki. Kelly, go get strapped in, now!" Fifteen minutes later, Carol held onto Nicki, running her hands over her body, as the woman lay atop her while Kelly fucked her hard from behind, the sound of flesh and leather slapping together punctuating each stroke. In the interim Carol had made herself a Jack on the rocks and was taking sips of it through a straw, then passing some to her new lover as they kissed. "Goddamn- (slap) you're my (slap) kind of (slap) woman (slap) not only (slap) has her (slap) wicked (slap) way with (slap) me and (slap) loans me (slap) her slave (slap) and feeds (slap) me Jack (slap)." "Welcome my love to the joys of multiple partners... you should be around... well, you will be around, when the whole gang is there... Eddy and Tamara with each other, Karen and Patricia with each other, the rest of us; Margo, me, Kelly and Harry-" The orgasm that ripped through Nicki's body at that moment... Carol wondered at the timing... could be, probably was, purely coincidental. "-all together... it's real easy to end up so stimulated that your eyes just roll up in your head and you're gone, for all practical intents and purposes... of course, the fact that we're all very stoned helps with that as well." After that Nicki's orgasms came fast and furious, one after the other and Carol locked their lips together, kissing her new lover while she held her and the trembling continued to move through her in waves. Then after seeing to Mistress Nicki's needs, Kelly moved down to Mistress Carol's waiting hole, fucking her beloved wife as Carol held their sister's insensate body in her arms. As Carol slowly approached her own climax, her whole body rocking foreward and back from Kelly's vigorous efforts, Nicki returned to the land of the aware and gave her wholehearted help to Kelly by sliding off and repositioning herself to lick and suck on Carol's clit. It really didn't take long at all after that. Carol lay there, her sister back in her arms, her beloved but willful Princess, having removed the strap-on, curled up next to her, and wondered how next they were to chastise her wayward pet. * * * * * After the break he'd gently helped her explore her feelings about the incredible changes her life had undergone in the recent past, and about the trauma of the attack upon her lover Harry. It was evident to him that Margo was closer to a case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder than she allowed herself to think she was and as the afternoon drew to a close, he had done his job admirably, asking her the questions whose answers led her to the same conclusion. "So Hal, where do we go from here?" Margo asked, her voice rough from an afternoon of effectively non-stop talking. "Margo, you know the treatment as well as I do... therapy and medication; although in your case, I think since you're unrepentantly self-medicating, the medication can be avoided altogether, especially if you make sure to do a bowl or two before bed every evening." She smiled. "That's an awfully strange prescription to hear from a doctor, Hal." "Bullshit, you know as well as I do that pot has innumerable medical uses and this is damn sure one of them. You haven't manifested any symptoms that make me think anything stronger, or a more conventional prescription, is warranted. If you do, I'll write you a prescription. "As far as the therapy, I'll want to see you twice a week to start, let's say two hour sessions, get with Helga, my office-Fuhrer on Monday to set up days and times." "Helga, your office-Fuhrer?" "Yeah... a patient of mine with a lot of rather interesting quirks, not the least of which are a fascination with Nazi regalia and a dominant streak a mile wide... she occasionally works as a professional Dom, but since her 'Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS' persona is very specialized, she can't really make a living at it. What she can do is be the most efficient office manager I've ever had. She was let go from her old job because her faux-German accent and occasional slip of the tongue into Nazi-speak created a hostile work environment for a Jewish co-worker. She's not a racist, at least not any more so than any of us, but it still disturbed her co-worker, so after being counseled and written up several times, she was let go. She couldn't afford therapy anymore and I needed an office manager. Serendipity abounds! I pay her more than she was making, her therapy is part of her benefits package and I have the most efficiently run office in the city... even if the rest of the staff lives in a sort of mock-terror of her." "Alright, that's definitely an interesting way of working out the difficulties." "Yes it is... 'creative solutions', that should be my motto. And this'll be completely off the books, Margo. It would be anyway, but with you and your crew agreeing to help out Tori and me, well, if anything positive comes of that, I'll be repaid, a thousand times over." * * * * * Margo sat in the car, listening to her voicemail. On the one hand, she had Carol telling her she'd probably be walking into an orgy in her suite. And on the other, Dr. Lowry telling her Harry was spiking a fever and it looked like the infection that was causing it was in the area of his lacerated kidney. Part of her so wanted to scream at her wives and her sister, telling them now was not the time for happy-happy-fuck-fuck... but she knew that was only her stress and the aftermath of her therapy talking. Lowry was a damn good doctor and no one, least of all her, was surprised at this infection. In spite of all their medical prowess, with the damage done and the contamination of the wounds, everyone had expected secondary infections to show up. She and Lowry had discussed a preventative course of antibiotics but decided to adopt a 'wait and see' attitude. Well, they'd waited and now they were seeing exactly the sort of infection they'd expected. A course of antibiotics should take care of the infection and leave Harry as right as rain before they knew it, at least on that front. She drove to the hospital and checked in on him, only to find him talking with some of the G & P employees. She leaned in, kissed him and whispered in his ear that she and the others would be in a little later, but right now she was going to go de-stress for awhile. Harry looked at her and smiled. "Go ahead, my love, you deserve it. Don't worry about me, I'm feeling better already. See y'all a little later." * * * * * Margo strode into the room, her mind a whirl of conflicting emotions. It had been years since her last therapy session and she'd forgotten how she felt in the aftermath of a good session... disturbed. As the therapy did its work, stirring things around in her psyche, bringing things to light that she had hidden from herself, forcing her to look at herself in new and sometimes uncomfortable ways, it was to be expected that she came away from it with her mind and emotions at a roiling boil. She entered the bedroom to find Kelly lying bound on one side of the bed, looking at Nicki and Carol as they slept, arms and legs entwined. Margo knelt down behind her. "So, how did it go, Princess?" she whispered. "Very well, Madam, very well. She's a wonderful playmate, so like our husband in some ways that it's almost scary, but so dissimilar in others. Her self-image, her self-confidence, they need a lot of work, but she's going to be an excellent member of the family." Margo untied Kelly. "I need you in the bathroom... I think we'll be in there awhile." "Yes Madam," Kelly replied, "whatever you wish." The two of them walked softly into the suite's large bathroom and closed the door. "Undress me, Princess. Make it quick." Kelly was startled by the change in tone and feel of Margo's voice and attitude, but not hurt or alarmed. She felt safe under the control of this woman no matter where they went. She removed Margo's suit as efficiently as she could, folding each piece and putting them on the counter. "So, am I to gather from your bound condition when I found you that you've misbehaved this afternoon?" Margo asked, stern and cold. "Yes Madam," Kelly responded, eyes downcast as she continued undressing her. "I teased Mistress Nicki when I should have been satisfying her, among other, lesser, transgressions." The curl of Margo's lips gave her opinion of Kelly at the moment. "So be it," she said. "Then for your lapses in obedience I shall continue your punishment." As Kelly finished undressing her, Margo leaned back against the wall, parted her legs and grabbing hold of Kelly's hair, forced her to her knees. She pushed the bathmat, thick and fluffy, over towards Kelly who slid it under her knees, then Margo forced Kelly's head between her open thighs. Margo could tell she was only slightly whiff, but the principle of the act was plain. 'Princess' would've been expected to service her without regard for her state of cleanliness. With one hand Margo caressed herself, allowing herself to sink into the wealth of sensations Kelly was subjecting her to. With the other hand, Margo kept a tight grip upon Kelly's head, holding the reins of her servant, as it were. For her part, Kelly found herself quite happy where she was. She had let go of herself and her mischievousness and done as Carol said, given herself over to service. A woman she adored had let her know what was required of her and although the smell and taste were stronger than usual, they were by no means unpleasant. Kelly gave it her all, licking and sucking, nuzzling her face into the thick mound of hair, seeking out Margo's clitoris with her mouth and tongue, exploring the folds and crevices of Margo's cunt with her fingers. Deep in her throat, she heard herself making sounds of satisfaction, sounds of pleasure, sounds of worship at the oldest of humanity's temples. Margo in turn responded. She set the pace, thrusting herself forward onto her lover's face, forcing Kelly to match her, finding herself teetering on the edge of orgasm, unable to go any further. The agony was delicious and she rode along that edge, seconds and minutes of desire and frustration stretching out into what seemed an infinite period. And then her mind shifted gears... her husband was going to be alright, the beautiful woman on the floor between her legs was her wife, another wonderful woman in the next room was her spouse as well. Intensified by the riot of emotions flooding through her, the climax that hit her was so strong that her knees went beyond weak and she slumped towards the floor. Kelly moved her hands from where they'd been occupied and caught her wife and Mistress as she slumped, helping to ease her down to a sitting position. "Are you all right, Madam?" "Yes... yes I am... just hold me, sweetie, just hold me. That was one hell of an orgasm... I believe I needed that more than I thought." The two women curled up on the floor together until Margo's legs returned to normal. "Alright Princess," she said, her voice and tone much more relaxed than previously, "let's get me showered." As Margo let herself be bathed by Kelly, she explained to her pet why her mood was so mercurial. "So there's a chance you'll be like this after every session of therapy?" "I'm afraid so, darling. I'm sorry; it's just the way things-" Kelly's hand came up to her mouth. "Shhhh, Big Mama, don't be sorry... you make sure you come get me after every session." "What?" "Margo, my love... not only is it good to be needed, but I love you, I want you... hell, I want you in some ways I didn't imagine I'd ever want someone. Being with you while you're raw and bleeding emotionally and mentally... it's a gift you give me, an honor you do me. "And it's a hell of a fun ride, too... for people who like roller-coasters." As she finished bathing Margo she continued. "It's pretty much known to everyone by now that I'm in love, messy, sloppy, romantic love, with our husband, right?" "Yeah, that's pretty much a given at this point." "Well, what might not be quite so evident, but is no less true, is that I'm very much in love with you and Carol as well, just in different ways. Think about this... Harry doesn't really get to play with Princess much, if at all... but there's nothing Princess wouldn't do for you. "And I do mean, nothing, Margo, my trust in you is that absolute." Margo looked at her wife with eyes more open than before. "Don't you trust Harry and Carol just as much?" "Yes, but it's different somehow... not sure how to explain it, or even if I can explain it, ever. While we're all married to each other, for me, there are differences." "How do you see our little group marriage?" "That's easy... we're all married to each other." "No, silly, wonderful woman; I mean roles... who plays what roles?" "Most of the time, we're all siblings, although you're the older-sister-who-mothers-us. Sometime though, Harry is the father, you're the mother, Carol and I are sisters." "So that's how you see us. How long have you had incestuous fantasies?" "About my own parents? Oh God, icky beyond belief, never... about someone playing those roles, either literally or figuratively, or the roles of the siblings I never had?" She slid her arms around Margo's waist, drew her close and whispered in her ear, "Ever since I first started fantasizing, Big Mama. And hearing about that little family scene y'all played out for Carol about drove me up the wall. Not the characters, per se, although those could be fun to play with, but that you actually went anywhere near that set of taboos. I think that was when I realized there was nowhere I could dream of going, fantasy-wise, that y'all wouldn't be willing to go with me." Margo reached out and directed the water spray from the shower into the corner, as far up the tiled wall as it could go. Then she carefully guided Kelly and herself down into the tub where they sat together as if in a summer rainstorm. "Come here, baby... let Mama hold you." Kelly curled up in Margo's arms as best she could. Margo gently nudged Kelly's head towards her tits. Kelly looked up at her through the falling rain and her eyes asking the question. "Go ahead, little one, Mama wants you to." Kelly put her lips around Margo's nipple and began to nurse, gently, sweetly, at Margo's breast as if she was indeed drawing nourishment from her. Oil of Roses Ch. 27 "That's it, baby, oh, Mama likes it when her little girl treats her tits that way. You just take all the time you want nursing on me, baby. I've got all the time in the world for my little girl." A deep-throated whimper came from Kelly and Margo knew her guess about some of the origins of Kelly's fantasies had been proven correct. "Oh my sweet baby... there's nothing in the world for me to do but be with you, take care of you. I'll be here for you as long as you want me." The sucking intensified and Margo could see tears mixed with the rivulets of water on Kelly's face. "There's nothing in the world more important to me than you, baby. There are some other people, your Daddy, your sister, probably your Aunt Nicki too in time, that are as important, but none of them are more important than you... and nothing outside of our family comes anywhere close." "N-n-not work?" sobbed Kelly. "No sweetie... not work. Nothing outside this family is anywhere near as important to me as you." Margo was astounded... from a conversation on fantasies she had suddenly been granted a look at a deep and old wound in Kelly's psyche, a wound that she was still learning to deal with, a wound that had brought her into their lives. That she had been the delivery driver that brought them their Chinese that night might well have been mere chance, but after that initial meeting, and the attraction that Carol felt for her, Margo could now see and understand that it was their sense of family, of their loved ones before all others and against all comers, that had brought this treasure of a person so fully into their lives. She was sure that Kelly's parents had loved her and that Kelly had known it. But she'd never felt that unconditional, 'you-are-the-most-important-person-in-our-world' kind of love from them, although Margo had no doubt they felt that way about their daughter. "Shhh, baby, it's okay, Mama's here and you're here and you're safe in the arms of your family... we love you and you'll always have a home with us." Kelly's shaking arms clutched at her as if she were in fear of losing herself in some great tempest. Margo stroked her hair while turning the water off with her foot. "We're always going to love you; we're always going to be on your side, my lovely girl. Mama and Daddy, your sisters and brother, we're yours and you're ours, now and forever after." She held the young woman as the water ran from their bodies, stroking her skin and telling her daughter how much she loved her as Kelly slowly calmed down. When at last Kelly had stopped shaking and her tears had dried, Margo kissed her and said, "Let's get you and me dry and then we'll go lie down together and talk in the living room." Kelly let the tit fall from her mouth. "Yes Mama." As Margo dried her little girl off, she thought once again how strange the course of her life had become. Now she had a family, a family who could be whatever she wanted or needed it to be for her. A family that could be whatever any member of it needed. As she finished drying off Kelly, the beautiful woman's eyes lit up as she said, "Now can I dry you?" "Sure you can, sweetie." Margo stood and let her wife, her sister, her daughter dry her, reveling in the care and tenderness the young woman showed with every stroke of the towel. When she was finished, the two of them crept through the bedroom and into the living room of the suite. Margo pulled out the hide-a-bed from the sofa, sheets still there from Tattie's night on it. The two of them looked at each other with mischievous glee in their eyes, scooted under the covers, pulled them up over their heads and faced each other, giggling. After she had brought her child-like mirth under control, Margo gazed into her partner's eyes. "So, what do you want to do now, my love?" The eyes that stared back at her in the dim light that filtered through the sheet were once again the eyes of the Kelly she was used to. The curtain that had been drawn aside offering a deeper glimpse into her was closed. "Well Mama," she said, as her body slithered across the sheets to press against Margo, "I was kind of curious to see where that whole 'nursing' thing might lead. You have a nipple for me, Mama?" "For you, my love, always," Margo replied as the first scents of their arousal began to make themselves known over the smell of shampoo and soap. "Mama always has a tit for her little girl." As Kelly snaked her arm down Margo's side, past her knee and up between her legs, she broke suction on the tit and said, "Hmm, seems like Mama might have something else for her little girl as well." She ran her finger through the damp mat of Margo's pubic hair and found her wet for another reason. "Mama, does your little girl excite you?" Margo felt Kelly's need to be the aggressor, and slipped into the fantasy with her. "Kelly," she said, "a tit is one thing... but this... you need to stop that right this instant!" The predatory gleam in Kelly's eyes let her know she was spot on in her read of the situation. "Oh no, Mama, I don't think so... you thought you could get your little kinks fulfilled, naked with the daughter, nurse the daughter, feel like she's still your little girl, all innocent and sweet while you get off by rubbing yourself on her, having her bite you." In a flash she had rolled Margo onto her back and was squatting atop her, hands holding Margo's wrists to the bed. "I don't think so... that game was cute the first couple of times, but I want more and you're going to give it to me." "Sweetie, no... we can't... I mean, what we've done already is wrong," Margo replied, into her role, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. "You knowing it was wrong didn't stop you from doing it, did it?" Kelly hissed. "Didn't stop you from feeling me up all these years, did it? You've been molesting me for years, grinding your cunt against my leg, having me bite you on your tits... what, you think I wasn't going to figure that out eventually? So now, Mama, it's time you either give me what I want, all I want, or I tell Daddy everything." "If you tell your father he'll leave me!" "You goddamn bet he will... and take Carol and me with him. And if you don't think I'll be bouncing on that thick slab of dick before the first week is out, you're dreaming. It'll happen so fast and so naturally that he'll be fucking me and screaming my name before he can realize what's going on." The young woman looked at her mother with desire and anger and contempt and love. "I'll be crying in the night, nightmares of the abuse you put me through, I won't be able to stand sleeping alone. 'Daddy, can I please sleep with you?' and then it'll be comfort the only way I've known, sucking on his nipples." She looked down at her cowering, horrified mother in triumph. "You know as well as I do that from that point, he's lost. With the mouth you've trained and the body I inherited from you, in no time he'll be balls-deep in this fourteen-year-old and wondering why he waited so long. And once he gets a taste for it, and I tell him how much I love it and want it never to stop... hell, the two of us will have Carol in the bed with us not long after. Think about that, Mama... you resisted your urges with her for all this time, and it'll turn out you didn't have to." Margo sobbed beneath her, one part of her brain reveling in the fantasy they were playing out. "Then, if you're very lucky, some day I'll give you a call. And you'll want back into our little 'family affair', so you'll come to the mall where I'll be sure to have a lot of my friends along and you'll spend an afternoon 'clothes shopping' with us all. Of course, what you'll really be doing is servicing us all like the whore you'll have become. And after all that, when you've got your tongue as deep in my ass as it'll go, I'll get on the cell and convince Daddy to let you back into our lives... "Or you can give me what I want now... and avoid all that trouble," Kelly said, easing her body down to lie atop Margo, whispering seductively in her ear. "Come on, Mama... I don't want to be angry with you... I don't want you to leave... I just want you to finish what you've started a thousand times." She began to rub her cunt against her mother's thigh, teasing her clit on Margo's soft skin. The broken woman beneath her was breathing in great heaving breaths as she fought to control her tears and her terror, her physical desires fueled by the soft body-to-body caress of her daughter's skin. "But how... do I know... you won't... seduce your father... anyway?" "Oh, make no mistake, Mama, that's going to happen, and big sister Carol too... you started us down this road... your only choice is whether you're going to be here for the ride." The young girl was rubbing herself on her mother faster, and her eyes were beginning to appear a little glassy. "How does it feel to be me, Mama? How does it feel to have someone using your leg to get themselves off? How does it feel to be used?" "I... I don't like it... very much... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry," she replied as the tears began again. "Don't be sorry, quit fighting me ... quit using me... start loving me, let me love you." The woman beneath her couldn't face the future Kelly had described to her and couldn't deny the dark truth behind her own desires any longer. With a great sigh and a flood of tears she relaxed, letting go of her resistance and accepting the new role her daughter had taken for her own, as well as the new role she had cast her mother in. Her daughter felt her resignation. She got up off her mother, swung herself around and over and brought her wet and fragrant slit down onto her mother's mouth. "There Mama, nurse on that..." as she herself parted her mother's pubic hair, seeking her own satisfaction "and I'll suck on this." Giving her mother's clitoris a loving caress with her tongue, bathing the entire area, she continued, "Jesus, I've wanted this for so many years." As Margo brought her tears under control and massaged her daughter's ass with both hands, she paused in the fulfillment of her long-buried desires. "Kelly, sweetie, how can you have wanted this for years? You're only fourteen." "Mama, are you kidding? Fourteen years of the two of us naked, being held against your beautiful body while you fondled and groped me? I think it's safe to say I'm a little precocious, sexually." Kelly laughed and Margo found herself able to laugh with her at last as they returned to their lovemaking. Margo's hands settling on the small of her daughter's back and along her sides, gliding across the skin with a whisper of friction as she was at last able to touch her little girl the way she'd always longed to. As for Kelly, her hands went everywhere they could reach, exploring her mother's body in a feverish fury, like a child she was trying to grasp everything at once. But even if her hands were on a high-speed race over her mother's skin, her mouth had found a steady and firm rhythm, one her mother responded to with both her hips, thrusting slightly up from the bed in time with her daughter's welcome kisses, and with her mouth as she tasted the sweetness of her little Kelly's cunt. Their bodies moved in time with each other, a dance of mothers and daughters, of lovers, of young and frenetic and old and calm, of positions of authority reversed. As Margo brought her little girl to the edge of orgasm and drove her past, her position was restored. As Kelly's orgasm began to slide into another, Margo brought a hand around to massage her daughter's clit with her palm as she probed in and out of her cunt with her fingers, freeing her mouth for speech. "That's it... darling... Mama... oh yes... yes Kelly... right... yes there... oh yes... that's my... oh that's my GOOD girl... oh baby... you are Mama's good girl... yes... good... girl..." And then, other than the low moan coming from both their throats as they joined each other in climaxes, one after another, there was nothing but the wet sounds of pleasure as the two women rode each other until they were forced to stop to rest and breathe. It was a tired and shaky little girl who reversed her position and crawled into her mother's arms for comfort and cuddling. As their breathing returned towards normal, Margo noticed that her daughter was crying, very softly, and turned to face her, licking the tears, and other fluids, from her face. Kelly tried to draw her arms and legs tight to her body, to curl up in a defensive ball, but Margo stopped her and stretched them back out, then said, "Put your arms around me, Kelly, do as Mama says. Put your arms around me, and put your leg between mine, yes, like that." She returned to cleaning her daughter's face with her tongue, realizing once again how blessed she was to have such a beautiful child. At last, all she was doing was catching new tears as they flowed, and she stopped. "Kelly, baby, what's wrong? Why is Mama's little girl crying?" "M-M-Margo... I'm... sorry... I didn't... mean to make... you cry... I should... have stopped... but I didn't... I didn't want to... I'm so sorry..." Kelly said between sobs as her tears intensified once again. "Shush, shhhh, precious one... it's alright..." she said as she cradled her wife in her arms. "Have you ever taken any drama courses?" The tearful woman nodded. "You know when they tell you to use what you have?" Kelly nodded again. "Well, what I had was sadness that someone I love so much had so much anger in her, anger that sprang from pain... and from that sadness came my tears, tears I channeled into playing my role. You didn't make me cry, sweetheart. I cried for you freely. I love you. Your feelings about your parents and a lot of other things have gotten all mixed together with your sexuality, and don't get me wrong, I'm glad in a way that they did because I'm convinced that's part of why you fit so well with us. But just like every one of us, you've got issues that you'll spend a lifetime working through... now that you know you didn't make me cry, how do you feel after our little fantasy?" Margo smiled as the voice of a child, about fourteen, was heard for the first time that afternoon. "Better... are you sure that when I looked at you, you knew it wasn't you..." "Yes my love, I knew that what I was seeing, on your face and in your eyes, wasn't for me... and it wasn't for your real mother... it was for a tangled nest of feelings and fears and desires. "Believe me, Kelly, I enjoyed where we went together, although not the reason why we went there. And with my mood as mercurial as it was, going there was no problem; all I needed was a hint, which you so ably provided. I love you, my darling. I love you so much." As Kelly prepared to return the endearment, she heard a very faint whisper. "See, that's what I meant about roles switching depending on who has the greater need." For a second, embarrassment and shame threatened to overwhelm her, and then Kelly realized she was at home, in the arms of her family, and there was nothing at all for her to be ashamed of. "Come out, you two..." As Carol and Nicki came around the door and into the living room she grinned at them. "Dare I ask how long you two have been there?" Carol walked to the hide-a-bed and crawled in on the other side of Kelly. "Since y'all got out of the shower. Seems we both woke up about the same time, while y'all were in there, and after y'all went to the living room, we were gonna come in and talk, but when I got to the door, 'Mama' was offering her breast... didn't want to interrupt," she said, stroking Kelly's thigh, "but couldn't bring myself to not listen." Nicki stood, uncertainty screaming in her body language, at the foot of the hide-a-bed. "And then I got to the door and she stopped me." "Yeah, she wanted to go back to the bed, let y'all have your privacy, but I wouldn't let go of her arm," Carol said, grinning as moved the hair away from Kelly's neck and moved to kiss her there. Margo looked at her sister. "Come here, Nicki, quit standing there like the beggar at the feast." She welcomed the woman in on her side of the bed, scooting up to sit against the back and seating Nicki between her legs, holding her in her arms. "I have no doubt," she said, nuzzling Nicki's ear, "that I have a date to get to know you better. But for right now, I think all we have time for," she said, her hands moving over Nicki's breasts, feeling the nipples stiffen, "is a little cuddle time before we go visit your brother this evening." Nicki felt her last questions of acceptance answered and was able to relax into Margo's arms. "Sister, you keep up that playing with my tits and my brother's visit will be delayed slightly." "Don't you mean 'sister'?" Carol asked as she snuggled with her wife. "No, too many syllables... 'sister' will do just fine." "And don't be thinking you can get out of it if Nicki wants to have a go at you, Big Mama," Kelly said, grinning evilly. "Carol and I can hold you down for her... won't be the first time that's happened today." * * * * * At supper that night, Tori Stallings watched her husband from across the dining room table. She was used to his silences during dinner during the week as that was his time to shake off the hold his day at work had on him and bring himself fully 'home'. But he'd seen a patient this afternoon, highly irregular for a Saturday, so she expected him to be disengaging himself from the patient's problem. Instead his gaze was turned not inward, but on her. "Hal, is there something wrong, something you want to talk about?" Hal Stallings smiled as he looked at the beautiful, rubenesque woman across the table from him. She had spent the afternoon in her studio and after her shower had put on one of the simple cotton lounging outfits she loved so well. Loose and flowing, the blouse and pants were free of decoration, other than the body beneath them. Her wet hair had dripped onto her shoulders and streaks of translucency ran down her front, exposing her large brown nipples. He'd noticed a somewhat lesser translucent effect above her pubic hair as she'd come to the table. He'd grown to love her more every day since they'd married and her smile could still bring tears to his eyes from the transcendental beauty it brought to her already lovely face. "No, nothing's wrong, but yes, there is something I'd like to talk to you about, darling. "You remember that last night in Miami Beach, when we were both drunk and were sitting naked on the balcony of our room?" Tori felt a welcome tingle in her cunt. "Oh yes, yes I do," she said, her hands snaking around her amply curved body to hug herself. "That second honeymoon was one of the best ideas you've ever had... aside from asking me to marry you, it may be have been your best idea." "You remember what we were talking about?" he asked, smiling as he watched her nipples harden. "Uh, yes... you'd put on your analyst's hat for awhile and gotten me talking about my fantasies... you didn't try to analyze them or me, you just got me to talking about them." "Uh huh... and you had quite a few you'd kept hidden from me out of fear that I'd think you were a freak and if I remember correctly, my zaftig love, you were very happily surprised by my reaction." "Oh yes I was, Hal, yes I was." Her hands, unbidden, had moved on her body, one caressing her breast, the other slipping down between her legs to gently tease herself around the edges of her pussy through the loose cotton lounge pants. "From your reaction it seemed you have some of the same dark little kinks I do." "I've never been sure, my love, if I share them as my own or if I just find them interesting... I know I hadn't really considered any of them before talking with you that night... but no matter how, they're part of my fantasy landscape now." Oil of Roses Ch. 28 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * It's hard for a man to resist a woman who wants him. It's harder still for a man with a small man's inferiority complex to resist a prostitute who comes back to him because she's never been loved like he loved her and she doesn't want money, she just has to have more of him. And if the man is predisposed toward flights of egotistical fantasy, all the better, it makes her job much easier still. The woman who had been so helpful in getting Nick's team in the first time served the same function the last night of Benjamin Sapperstein's life. She met Nick, Salome and several of Nick's 'specialists' at the back door. "Good evening, Monique. He give you any trouble?" "No sir and he was more than willing to give me the code to disarm the system when the Chinese food arrived. Of course, he was already real mellow by then." "Good, then it went just as we planned. Get dressed and get out of here. You've done a marvelous job and I won't forget it." "So my brother, he's gonna be okay?" "His time in Huntsville State Penitentiary will be like a vacation. You have my word. You also know what happens if you ever talk." "Yeah, and I ain't in no hurry to die. You got nothing to worry about Mr. Philouma." "That's good. Lenny, escort Monique home. Monique, I'm having Lenny stay with you until you're on the plane and on your way out of the country, just like I've had him staying with you since this began. I can't afford to have anything happen to you. You take care." "Thank you, Mr. Philouma. I appreciate it." The large man who answered to 'Lenny' and Monique exited out the back door. "Alright, you all know what to do. Come on Salome, let's do this thing." The jumpsuited figures, with their slippers, gloves and hairnets separated as Susan and her patron went to the bedroom. "The joys of recreational pharmaceuticals," Salome exclaimed, looking over the naked figure on the bed. She brought out the fur-lined restraints from her bag and applied them to his wrists and ankles, linking the two sets behind his back with a length of nylon-shrouded chain. Then with Nick's help she rolled him onto a plastic sheet and centered him on it. She went back to her bag and came out with a small brown bottle labeled 'Rush'. "Good old amyl nitrate... or whatever the fuck the exact mix is in this shit... poppers for papa." She opened the bottle and carefully waved it close to Benjamin's nostrils as he snored away. As the sleeping man drew in another deep breath of the stimulant she reached down and slapped his exposed testicles. Benjamin's scream set Nick's nerves on edge, but he figured the asshole was at least due one good shriek from the abuse he'd just suffered. When Benjamin Sapperstein came fully awake and was about to yell, he found himself pausing, almost involuntarily. The little girl who'd slapped his nuts was standing next to his bed, dressed in a Catholic schoolgirl outfit. Even after his recent systemic shock, his cock gave a twitch at the sight of her, one foot up on the bed showing that under the skirt, there was nothing but a naked pussy, staring him in the face, the white blouse tied off above her waist, gaping open to expose her small, puffy-nippled tits. She was very pretty, her heart-shaped face framed by her short brown hair and the obvious juxtaposition of innocence and carnality oozed forbidden sensuality. "Boss, even if they like big-titted blonde bimbos, I can still make 'em pant," the young girl said, giggling. It was then he realized three things: the little twitch his cock had given was becoming a full-blown erection, he was very securely restrained, and there was somebody else in the room with them. That somebody looked vaguely familiar. He was dressed in an Armani suit, with rubber gloves and a hairnet. And he was clipping something bag-like on to the side of a silenced pistol. Benjamin Sapperstein had a flash of insight at that moment. He realized these people were here to kill him, and that Margo was somehow responsible. :"Look, whatever my wife is paying you, I'll double it, triple it! I'll forget I ever saw you and her, just take my money and let me live!" "You're suffering under several very large misconceptions, Dr. Sapperstein," Nick said. "The first one is that I'm some cheap hit-man your wife hired to kill you. My name is Niccolo Philouma, Dr. Sapperstein. That make things any clearer?" "Yes sir... I'm sorry sir. But surely there's still some way we can do business together." "I'm afraid not, Benjie. Do you mind if I call you 'Benjie'?" "No sir, not at all." "Thank you... you may continue to call me Mr. Philouma. I can't do business with you because I promised your wife justice. That's what she asked of me... justice. She wanted me to find the two men who beat her lover severely, almost to death, were intending to beat her other lover as well. She asked me to find out why. She didn't want leading questions or tortured confessions... she wanted the truth. She placed herself deeply in my debt for the truth. "And they told me the truth... and then a friend of the man you tried to have killed broke both their necks like he was opening bottles of beer... and did so with as little remorse. The hooker who set you up with them, found you men who'd kill for money? She did what you told her to... took the money and left the city." As Salome put a towel over Benjamin's mouth, Nick reached down and opened a cooler by his feet, carefully lifting something out of it. "I got this from some friends of mine in Las Vegas, special delivery, this morning." Benjamin was looking at Darlene's severed head, rimes of ice, like a light snowfall, covering her cheeks, frosting her hair, eyebrows and eyelashes. His bowels and bladder were lost to his control. Nick put the head back in the cooler, and closed it. He wrinkled his nose at the stench coming from the bed and waited for Benjamin to stop screaming before he continued. "Now then, Benjie, there are two ways the rest of this evening can go. The first way is that my boys finish their work here in your home, Salome here gets you hard, fucks you, I chain her to the bed and a couple of my boys come in here and make your final hours on this earth very, very painful. See, they'll be doing their best to make it look like a Columbian drug lord is wreaking his vengeance upon you, and that always involves a lot of torture. I mean, I don't generally have that much trouble with torture, kinda comes with my family's business, but these guys? They make me big time queasy. The Columbian I'm framing for this will be here, leaving forensic evidence everywhere, and then he'll be killed in 'a minor altercation' with some of my boys. When the police investigate you, they'll find this little girl, who can't identify anyone as they wore masks, evidence on your computer that you're a pedophile, lots of kiddie porn, an apartment on the south side that records will show you've been renting for years, filled with evidence of child molestation. And of course there'll be evidence of drug use everywhere. Your reputation, your family's name, ruined beyond repair... I hate to think what it'll do to Nelda, your poor mother. It'd probably be a kindness if I arranged an accident for her, just to spare her too much shame. I mean, I'll let her endure a week or three of it, but then I'll probably have mercy on her, have her killed. Any irregularities in the little picture I'm painting will be handled by my many good friends on the police force. "Do you have any doubts, Benjie, that I can make all that happen?" "N-N-No sir, Mr. Philouma." "Good, good... or, the evening can go this way. You enjoy a last, semi-private fuck with the delectable Salome, nobody'll ever know about it, my people remove all the so-called evidence of your pedophilia, your drug abuse, you write out a nice little suicide note telling your wife you're sorry, nothing specific, just that you're very, very sorry, you get in a nice warm bathtub and slit your wrists. I'll sit with you until you're gone. "Which do you want it to be?" As Nick sat and watched Dr. Sapperstein go through the end of his 'denial' phase and into 'anger', he checked his watch. Even where this piece of shit was concerned, Nick was not completely heartless, he had some time to allow him to process the fact of his own imminent demise... some time, but not too long. He took a short break, leaving the gun with Salome and strolled out into the rest of the house as Benjamin raged impotently on the bed, squirming in his urine and feces, checking to see how the others were doing. The rest of his people were finished, or very nearly so. He stood and watched while the subtle signs of drug abuse were planted in the house. He knew his frame-up wasn't good enough to fool federal investigators, or even particularly diligent city detectives, but they weren't who was going to get the case. The men getting the case were Family assets, seldom used and reputable enough to insure no one looked too closely. The paramedics that would get the call, pronounce on Benjie, one way or the other, and take Salome away were Family assets as well. She'd disappear from the hospital, a not at all uncommon occurrence where underage prostitutes were concerned. They had no desire to become guests of Child Services, so they found the cracks in the over-stressed system and instead of falling through them, crept out through them. It probably meant a six month vacation for Salome, something else he'd end up picking up the tab for, but such was life. No one who mattered would ever get a good look at little Suzie Raymond, or discover her secret. When he returned to the bedroom, Benjie was a sobbing mass on the plastic sheet atop the bed. Salome was sitting in the chair, the pistol in one hand, the other furiously masturbating herself. "Please Mr. Philouma, please... I don't want to die." "Very few people ever really do, Benjie," he said, walking over to the bed. "I've known Carol Riley for years; I know she doesn't want to die. I've just recently become acquainted with Harry Grimes, I like him a lot, and I know he doesn't want to die. "But none of that meant anything to you when you arranged to have them killed, so don't expect me to care too much about how you feel on the issue. You're going to die, tonight, either here in this room or in the bathroom right behind that door. That's a fact. There's no stopping it, no bargaining your way out of it. I'm very familiar with your financial assets, courtesy of preparing for tonight, and trust me, even if you liquidated everything, you don't have enough money to buy a pass from me. You've got a lot, and Margo will enjoy it, whatever she ends up doing with it, but this is a matter of honor, Benjie. That's something I don't expect you to ever understand. No amount of money could buy your way out of this. "So accept the fact that you're going to die... in the next few hours... and decide how you want to go. Do you want to die screaming in agony, or quietly fading away in a nice, warm tub? I'll want your decision very soon now." He walked back to stare down at the masturbating Salome. "Goddamn, you really are a twisted little bitch, aren't you?" "Yeah... yeah I am... if you'd had to fuck... some of the people I have... and do some of the things... I've done... you would be too... will you move?" she asked, panting. She paused a moment for breath, "You're blocking... my view... of him." Nick took the pistol back from her and watched as she got off on Benjie's pain and agony. He was sobbing quietly to himself, a pitiful excuse for a human being, lying there naked on the plastic sheet. Nick thought about how in reality, there was no place he'd rather be than at home with Randy, curled up in his arms, preparing himself emotionally for the funeral of his brother the next day. Instead he was here, playing psycho-drama games with a mewling little coward not fit to clean shit off the asses of Carol and her friends. He cocked back the slide of his 9mm, chambering a round and making sure the brass catcher was firmly attached. Moving to the side of the bed, carefully avoiding blocking Salome's line of sight, he squatted down and, holding the pistol to Benjamin's kneecap, at the ready, he looked into Benjie's eyes. "Benjie! BENJIE! Time to make your decision. If I have to shoot out your knee it's going to hurt, a lot. Do you want this to go easy or hard? I mean I'd love to be able to give you all night, hell, all day or however long it takes to come to terms with your imminent demise, but I don't have that much time. You see, I've got to get some rest before I bury my brother later today. I believe if a man kills his brother, the least he can do is show up at the funeral on time looking properly somber. The 'on-time' part's going to be hard to manage if I don't get to bed soon, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to rush you. Now, torture or suicide?" "You... you killed your brother?" "Had him killed, yes I did, and that little girl masturbating to your obvious emotional distress over there was the assassin. She's very good at a number of things, killing unsuspecting men and women being among them. And she really enjoys it, gets off on it in fact. But that's all beside the point, the point here is do I call my boys in, or do you go quietly?" "Mr. Philouma, I... I'll take the easy way out." "That's a wise choice, Benjie, a wise choice. Now then, would you like me to have Salome clean you up a bit, give you a last fuck before you go?" "That'd be nice I suppose... although I'm not really in the mood... kind of understandable, I think." "Yes it is, but trust me when I tell you, she could get a rise out of a dead man. You're not going to be any challenge for her at all." * * * * * As Salome did her thing with the freshly-cleaned Benjie, Nick sat in the living room, listening to the faint sounds coming from the bedroom and called Randy on his digital cell. "Hey lover, did I wake you?" he asked. "No... just laying in bed, reading 'The Valachi Papers'... again... and wondering how I ended up in love with a 'wiseguy'." "Part of what I love about you is your sense of humor, Randall... of course, it would help if that'd been funny. You know that kind of talk makes me nervous, even with the scramblers we have on these things." "Sorry... how's it going?" "The deal should be closed in the next hour, hour and a half... we're taking a last break from the negotiating table before checking everything and getting down to the signing. Sorry I have to work late." "So am I... which option did he go for?" "He's going for the buy-out... but then again, I never really thought he'd have the balls for the hostile takeover." "Well, try to hurry it up some or else we'll have to skip breakfast and motor if we want to make that funeral." "I cannot believe you just paraphrased 'Heathers' in reference to my brother's funeral." "That's part of why you love me." "Because you're fucking certifiable?" "Ahyup." * * * * * The bath had been drawn, Benjie had written his suicide note with a shaking hand, had several stiff drinks and had gotten himself situated in the tub with the help of one of Nick's computer technicians, who were already through with their part of the job. Nick sat on the toilet with the gun, watching. The stereo in the bedroom was playing a selection of soothing classical CDs on 'repeat'. As the time came for Benjamin Sapperstein to take his life, Nick was not surprised that he was having problems doing so. The pathetic, whining craven lacked the ability to hold up his end of the deal. Nick sat in silence, watching Benjie fiddle with the scalpel for a good fifteen minutes before calling the tech back in. He handed him the gun. "Cover him." Carefully holding both wrist and blade beneath the water, Nick guided Benjamin's hands through first a long deep incision up the inside of the right arm, then repeated the procedure on the left. As the scalpel dropped to the bottom of the tub, Nick carefully removed his rubber gloves over the tub, turning them inside out to avoid dripping on the floor, put them in a plastic bag and donned another pair. Nick sat with the dying man, talking with him, watching the light slowly fade in his eyes as the pinkish tint of the water in the tub continued to deepen in color, its speed lessened by the periodic draining of part of the water and the adding of more hot water. "You know, it's so fucking funny," the dying man said after his foot fell back into the water from turning off the tap. "What is?" "This is the way my sister Anna died... of course she didn't have a mobster helping her. All she had was a fifth of Crown Royal in her belly and the broken bottle to saw her fucking wrists open." "I'm sorry to hear that." "Don't be... she was weak. That's what Mother always said about Anna... about Lise as well. Did you have any siblings... other than the one you killed?" "Yes, two others... sisters, Paula and Rosetta, we call her Rosie." "They still alive? Mine are both dead." "Rosie is... married to a nice man that we keep as far away from the Family as we can... she always was the rebellious one of us. Paula... well, Paula is still around." As if he hadn't heard him, Benjamin went on. "Yeah, good old Anna did this and Lise wrapped Mother's Mercedes around a bridge support at about a hundred and twenty. The only thing that outweighed the alcohol in her bloodstream was the cocaine." "How'd you feel about that?" Nick asked. "Didn't feel much of anything, really... like my father used to say when one of us would get tired and want to stop running or playing tennis or whatever. 'If you can't hang with the gang, go home you little crybaby and thank you for playing'. He was a real son-of-a-bitch, my father. We all hated him... "Mother always said I was the strong one... and now this. Now I end up looking as pathetic and weak as my sisters. Useless bitches, really..." Nick watched the man in tub talk about his life and thought how much he wanted to bandage the man's wrists, get some whole blood into him, take him to a nice secluded spot and spend days inflicting real pain on him. The thought of the little bastard screaming in unendurable agony brought a smile to his face. "Is something funny, Mr. Philouma?" "Not really, Benjie... I was just thinking how much I want to put a glass rod up your urethra and then slam your dick with a mallet... for a start... then I'd want to get nasty." Oil of Roses Ch. 28 "I'm surprised that cunt didn't ask you to do that, and a lot worse... talk about a useless bitch... you remember the definition of 'bitch' as opposed to 'slut', don't you, Mr. Philouma? "A slut fucks everybody... a bitch fucks everybody but you... I bet she fucked you to get you to do this to me..." Nick had worried that during this final conversation there would be revealed some glimmer of humanity that would cause him to regret his actions. As Benjamin Sapperstein neared the end and kept talking, Nick realized his fears were groundless. "Shoulda... had 'em all... killed... took my chances... with the police... instead o' goin'... for revenge." The shallow and vapid creature bleeding his life out in the tub before him had no regrets about what he'd done beyond being caught. There was nothing else in his mind but concern for himself as at last the repeated additions of hot water failed to warm him, even as he was having trouble summoning the strength to manipulate the large handles at the end of the tub with his feet. His final words confirmed completely Nick's opinion of him. Nick, confident that there was no way Benjamin could stop his own demise, or even struggle, leaned over and said, "Oh, by the way, there was a third way this evening could end... you die in this tub and I leave all the evidence in place. Your reputation and your family name are ruined, poor Nelda will never hear the end of it... and I won't be merciful and have her killed since I'm pretty sure she's at least partly responsible for the piece of shit you grew up to be... that's the way this evening is going to end." Benjamin replied, "I don't care... about that... I just don't... want to... suffer." "Benjie... your wife didn't fuck me... I'm gay... I did this because she asked for justice, just like I said." The look of surprise and disgust that flickered across his victim's face amused Nick no end, and shortly thereafter he watched the final glint of light fade from the eyes of Benjamin Sapperstein. "May God in his infinite mercy look upon you with a kindlier eye than I am capable of," Nick said. He got up and with the help of his crew finished the final bits of scene-setting for the police, then binding Salome to the bed, reminded her to start her screams around 6 AM to catch the neighbors awake and moving about. If the police hadn't been called by 7:30, her man Danny was going to break down the door, setting off the alarm as her 'pimp' came looking for her. He would flee the scene 'upon discovering the body' and given the neighborhood the police would be there very quickly. Then Nick and his people left the house as quietly and covertly as they'd come and drove off into the pre-dawn darkness. * * * * * After the various members of his team had gone their separate ways, Niccolo Philouma was as alone as he ever was. Two bodyguards in the front seat, the privacy glass raised between them and him, sitting by himself in the back with no place to run to escape himself. Was this what his life was going to become? In the past several days he'd had his brother killed and killed another man himself and when he thought about it, he really didn't feel much of anything about either of them. Was he becoming some sort of monster, killing without feeling? How could he look at the deaths of his brother and Benjamin Sapperstein as nothing more than, how would Eddy put it, 'pest control'? He had lied to the dead man... he hadn't been exposed to much torture. There was a lot of the family business that he hadn't seen yet, the hard side of it. Thankfully Benjamin wasn't the first man he'd killed... throwing up at this scene would've been most inconvenient. More than anything else, he wished his 'Uncle' Tony were around to talk to, but wishing didn't make it so. However, the next best thing was available... * * * * * The arm that snaked out of the pile of covers on the bed just so happened to be Carol's, pulling her cell phone back under those covers. "What? "Okay... yeah... gimme a few... no, not a problem, not a problem. "Okay, asking me to solve riddles, that may be a problem... oh yeah, I know where you mean... shouldn't take me more than a half hour or so. See you there." She slid out from under the covers into the room, stumbling about, trying to find her clothes in the dim light coming in between the drapes. "Who was that, where you goin'?" Kelly asked from the other side of Margo's sleeping form. "Niccolo... he needs to talk... I'll be back... well, I'll be back when I'm back. Kisses and hugs." "Hugs and kisses," Kelly said as she tucked her head back in close to Margo's shoulder. Carol finished dressing and then went downstairs to catch a cab. * * * * * The lake had always been one of Tony's favorite places to go. During the day, he'd walked the paths filled with bikers, skaters, joggers and power-walkers, soaking in the sheer exuberance of life as he strode along in his suit and tie, fedora perched jauntily atop his head, cane tapping briskly. At night he'd strolled those same trails, enjoying the evening and the cool breezes from the lake, not-so-secretly hoping that some 'young socialist', as he called them, was stupid enough to pick him for a wealth redistribution scheme. Between his own skills with a gun, and his boys, never too far away, no such attempt had ever come anywhere close to succeeding, and several potential life's of crime had been curtailed, one way or another. He and Carol had gone there often, and they'd spent hours walking together or sitting on a bench, watching people while Tony made up stories about those they saw. They'd listen to the musicians, busking for people's spare change, and if Tony thought them any good at all, they'd receive a 'Juliana musician encouragement grant'... anywhere from a twenty to a couple of hundred's in their hat or instrument case. If they were really good, Tony'd give them one of his business cards with the address of a club owner or agent on the back, along with a note urging the aforementioned to 'give the kid a listen'. His business cards read simply "Tony J. – Nosy Old Man", but such was his reputation among musicians all over town that no one ever doubted that what they'd been handed was a shot at their future, if they were smart enough not to fuck it up. So when Nick had told Carol to meet him "at that big fountain where the nosy old man did his star-search thing", although it had taken a minute or two for her sleepy brain to put it all together, she'd no doubt exactly where he'd meant. When she got out of her cab on Lakeshore Drive next to the fountain with its arc of benches on either side, one of Nick's men was already there, waiting on her. She took her hand off the straight razor in her pocket and walked over to him, waving at the taxi driver as he pulled away. "He'll be back around in a few," the man said to her. "Seems like he's becoming a shark," Carol said. "Never able to stop moving or he'll die." The bodyguard looked down at her in surprise. "Yeah, there are very few places he can stop right now." "And about to be fewer still, I'd imagine. Hi, I'm Carol," she said, thrusting her hand up towards the guard. He smiled. "Izzy'," he replied, shaking her hand. "Izzy? A member of the Family with the somewhat Jewish nickname of 'Izzy'? What, did your parents hate you?" she asked, smiling back at him. "Nah, Mama was just on a biblical kick, named me Israel; Papa was out of town on business... by the time he got back it was a done deal. So I ended up with a choice, go by 'Israel', which got shortened to 'Izzy', or go by my middle name." "Okay, must be some middle name... I'm almost afraid to ask." "Infantina." "Oh I am so sorry..." "Yeah, so am I... so it's 'Izzy'." "Right, 'Izzy' it is. Did you ever get even with your mother for that?" "Course I did... I didn't become no priest, did I?" he replied, grinning. * * * * * Fifteen minutes later she was in the back of Nick's car, sucking down a coffee from an all-night coffee bar and studying her host. "Nick, what am I doing, riding around the city with you way too goddamn early in the morning?" "I needed someone to talk to... I needed to talk to Tony, actually, but as he's no longer with us, I decided to talk with the person who knew him best." "Surely your father or some of the other old-timers-" "Don't kid yourself, Carol. They knew him as a 'Family man'; they knew that side of him, but he always said that was a mask he wore to play the cards life had dealt him. Not that he was bitching about the hand he'd been dealt, but you and I both know where his heart truly lay and it wasn't in being an enforcer or anything else associated with the Family. He really had no use for 'this thing of ours', except perhaps for the money and power it brought him. You and Tattie were the people who knew the real him the best, and out of the two of you, much to Tattie's regret, you knew him better than she. So put on your 'Tony hat' and talk with me... I'm kind of fucked up tonight." "You know, it's funny, awhile back Tattie and I were talking about Tony and his assertion that immortality is the sum of all the bits of ourselves that we leave behind us when we go. I guess it's time I put my bit of Tony's immortality to use. Of course I'll do whatever I can." As Nick described his fears, Carol found it easy to listen with Tony's ears, to answer with Tony's voice. It wasn't as if he possessed her, it was just that he continued to live on so vividly in her mind that she knew what he'd find significant, knew how he'd answer. "Niccolo, hypothetical question: what if tomorrow it turns out that it would be very beneficial, but by no means essential, for the Family concerns if Harry and Margo and all their family and friends disappeared. What would you do?" "Goddamn, you sound like him... okay, not a goddamn thing. Good peoples' lives are worth more than benefits to the family business." "Congratulations, you got nothing to worry about; your soul's very much intact. Your father would have them... I mean us, killed. And I'm not saying he wouldn't feel regret about it, but he'd have it done, just the same. You're in good shape. You answered your own question with your response. 'Good peoples lives'... or in a loose definition of the word, 'innocent' lives, that's the key." "Who am I to judge?" "A man who could be home in bed asleep but instead is worrying whether he's becoming a monster." They talked for another hour before Nick finally looked at Carol and said, "Thank you, I'm doing much better and it's time to get you back and for me to get a little sleep before a very busy day." He hit the intercom button and told the driver to take them back to the hotel. "No, no Nick, have him take me to the Omni, I can catch a cab from there." Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in front of the Omni Downtown. "You're sure you're okay with being dropped off here?" Nick asked as she got out of the car. "Oh yeah, I can grab a cab from here and keep you from being seen around our hotel too often," she said, smiling. "Thank you... I really appreciate the talk, Carol... or should I say Tony?" "How about both? Goodnight Nick, I'll be thinking of you later today. I wish we could be there with you physically, know that we'll be there with you in spirit." "I know. Talk to you later." And with that his car pulled away and Carol walked over to one of the cabs parked outside the Omni's entrance. In thirty minutes she was back in bed, snuggled close to her wives, asleep almost before her head hit the pillow. At about the same time, across town, Randy Miers held Niccolo Philouma while he cried, comforting him as best he could, amazed that his lover had tears in him for his brother Philip. * * * * * The news didn't make the morning edition of the paper or the morning news programs but it got extensive coverage on the local noon news shows. Those who relied on print for their information would have to wait until the following morning. On the Internet, facts were in as short supply as elsewhere, but gossip and speculation were as well-stocked as always. * * * * * Overheard at a production meeting in the Channel 6 News Division... "Can you believe that fucking arrogant cow ordered Teddy and his crew to come back to the office?" "Mike, she's our star reporter... by definition that makes her a prima donna pain-in-the-ass." "I know, but I'm the goddamn editor of the news division... I assign reporters to stories and I assigned Teddy!" "And Janie Quitta smelled the same ripe scent of sex, drugs and delicious scandal that you did, Mike, that's why she grabbed the story. God, I would've loved to have been there when Detective... what was his name?" "Martin." "Yeah, Martin, forcibly removed her from the scene and wouldn't let that pet cameraman of hers get footage of the girl they found inside. Shouldn't have been trying to get footage of an underage prostitute anyway, poor dear, she deserves some anonymity, especially considering what we heard about her condition when they found her." "Yeah, yeah you're right... it's not like any other station got a picture of her either." "Yeah... that would have been different." * * * * * At the Grove Spa & Wellness Center, while enjoying a mineral mud bath, sipping green tea and casually grazing on a fresh cucumber salad, Nelda Sapperstein was also listening to the radio on her headphones instead of the Soothing Sounds of Nature as was supposed to be piped in to her. She tipped the attendant a twenty for such consideration, being firmly of the opinion that if God had wanted her to listen to the sounds of nature, He would never have brought His people in from the wilderness and directed them to Neiman Marcus. So it was that she heard the news concerning her son before anyone official could contact her, as on her spa days she turned off her cell phone and told no one where she would be. They were her "Me" time. When the attendant went in to check if she needed anything else, she assumed Mrs. Sapperstein was asleep. Such was not the case. To the Grove Spa & Wellness Center's credit, they drained and cleaned the mud bath tub, even though everyone was hard-pressed to differentiate between what should be there, and what the side effects of Mrs. Sapperstein's passing had left there. * * * * * Even when she knew it was coming, even when it was something she devoutly wished for... even if it was something she'd set in motion, the death of someone she once loved, once believed she was going to spend her life with, hit Margo like a heavy blow to the chest and she staggered back from the two police officers standing in the living room of their suite and fell into a chair with a thud. Her terry-cloth bath robe fell open and the two policemen turned away suddenly, embarrassed by her unexpected exposure. "How... when?" As the words were leaving her mouth she felt the comforting presences of Kelly and Carol, on either side of her. They closed her robe for. "It's okay to look again, gentlemen," Carol said. "Thank you, ma'am," the older one, a Detective Martin, said. "As of now, the coroner's ruling it a suicide." Detective Martin went on to tell them what he could, and shortly after that Margo found herself in a cold white room filled with large drawers, making an official positive identification of the mortal remains of one Benjamin Sapperstein. She stood by the extended shelf, staring down at his pale, colorless face. She'd grown to hate that face in life, despise the cruel and venal, petty and callous little coward that lived behind it. But in death... it was just a face. Just another wealth of opportunities and potential that would be explored no further. Looking at him now, she could forgive him, and wish him some sort of eternal peace, if such were possible for him. "Dr. Wohler-Sapperstein, there's something else... something I haven't talked to you about. "Apparently, your mother heard the news on the radio this morning while at the spa. The coroner's initial finding is death due to a massive myocardial infarction. If you wouldn't mind, we'd really appreciate it if..." "Oh my God... certainly, if you'd give me a minute." "I'm sorry ma'am," Detective Martin said, "if I'd been thinking, I would've told you at the hotel, but we've been so busy it completely slipped my mind until we got here. Please, if you can find it in your heart, forgive me." "No, not a problem Detective... just... a lot of shocks, very close together. I'll be fine." "Would you like to sit down for a bit, perhaps a glass of water, a cup of coffee?" "No, really, I'll be fine... which one is her?" The attendant slid Benjamin back into the wall and pulled out another shelf. "If you're ready, Dr. Wohler-Sapperstein?" "Go ahead." The covering was pulled back and Margo was looking at her mother. Margo and Benjamin's relationship had taken time to deteriorate, granted it didn't take much, but it did still take some time... hers and Nelda Sapperstein's had begun in the shitter and just gone downhill from there. She remembered when she'd first discovered that Benjamin was cheating on her. In a fit of despondency she'd gone against all her better instincts and called her mother for advice. Nelda had asked if any of the women he was sleeping with were better matches for him than Margo. If so, Margo should ask for a divorce. Otherwise she should put up with it and smile. Death had not improved Nelda much at all. She'd had another facelift since the last time Margo had seen her, but she was still the pinched, poisonous looking crone she'd always been. "That's her. I'd like to go now, if I could." "Certainly, thank you so much for your help and although I know you and your husband and his family were estranged, I am sorry for your loss." "Thank you, Detective Martin." Ten minutes later Kelly was driving them back to the hotel as Carol held her sobbing wife in the back seat. * * * * * When they arrived back, they were surprised to find one of Nick's men, standing in the hall outside their suite. "He's inside, waiting for you ma'am," the bodyguard said, surreptitiously watching the hallway. Seated in the living room, Nick and Tattie were talking over cups of coffee and a platter of pastries, while Izzy stood by the door to the suite's bedroom. Carol waved and smiled at him, receiving a sheepish smile and little wave in return. "Well, I better go join the others. They're over at the hospital, visiting Harry," Tattie said, getting up and heading for the door. "Nick, I understand you're gonna be real busy for awhile but still, make a little time, don't be a stranger." "I'll do my best, Tattie," he said as he got up. Nick hugged her goodbye and then turned to Margo. "I don't have much time, but I promised to tell you everything I'd done. Have a seat. Would you like some coffee?" "Yes, please." "Anything stronger?" "I'll be okay." He poured them all coffee and sat down once again. "Do me a favor and save any questions you have for after I'm finished," he said. "Now, to begin..." * * * * * At Sisters of Mercy Hospital, Susan Raymond pulled one of her favorite tricks of all time. When you're an adult who's very good at pretending to be an adolescent, it's much easier to appear to be an adult than if the situation is reversed. Courtesy of an intentionally unobservant police officer, she disappeared from her room and within fifteen minutes exited the hospital confidently, dressed in a borrowed lab coat, a pair of prescription glasses stolen from a patient's room and a pair of sneakers that a sleeping resident would miss when she woke up from her nap in the staff lounge. Her I.D., stolen from the same resident, wouldn't bear too close a scrutiny, but the key to getting in, being in, or leaving anywhere was looking like you not only knew what you were doing but had every right to be doing it. Making it to and walking out of the E.R. entrance of the hospital wasn't any real problem. Oil of Roses Ch. 28 On her way out, she passed the hospital cafeteria, where her attention was drawn to a table full of people by their echoing laughter. A large, bear-like man, a tiny doll-like woman, a woman with a physique Susan thought of as "Russian Tractor Woman", a pretty pear-shaped woman and a blonde with a swimmer's body were talking and laughing loudly enough to attract a lot of attention. She smiled to herself as she passed, her pace never slowing. She found Danny circling the block as he was supposed to, from 1 PM to 3PM, and within a few minutes she was on her way back to Nick's private suite. She giggled to herself. With the possible exception of fucking Benjie, this had been the most fun she'd had on a job in quite awhile and knowing what was next on the agenda for Benjie had sweetened the experience somewhat. Overall, a good night's work. * * * * * "- so there's Short Stuff there, trying to convince her mom and dad that she was the one who'd drunk all of her dad's beer... lying her ass off, putting on the lamest and most haphazard 'drunk' routine her dad had ever seen. All the time, not twenty feet away, there's our boy Harry, passed out on the floor of the bathroom, in plain sight of his parents, lying in a pool of his own puke, smelling like a brewery," Karen said. "So her daddy looks at her, trying hard not to crack up because he knows his wife is wanting something real Old Testament over this, and he asks her 'Well, if you're the one who drank all my beer, why's your brother passed out in bathroom in a puddle of vomit?' To which Short Stuff replies-" "Bad tuna fish?" Nicki said, a little girl voice. As her entire audience roared with laughter, Karen continued. "So sure as shit her dad's trying not to lose it now and even her mama might have cracked a tiny smile, so they take her upstairs and put her to bed. Her daddy told me they fed her chicken soup and Sprite soda, because her stomach was going to be upset from 'all the beer she'd drank', just pampered her like a princess for trying to cover for Harry." "Of course, they told me soon afterwards that they didn't believe a word of it and that if I ever did it again, they were going to paddle my ass until it could be used as a lighthouse, which was, I hasten to add, a frequently heard and ofttimes implemented threat around our house," Nicki added. "So what did they do about poor Harry?" Tamara asked, her voice full of concern. "Oh, they could see he was in no danger of gagging or choking, he was lying on his side and appeared to have gotten everything out of him anyway, so they left him there," Karen replied. "His dad said that when Harry finally got up, they told him the first thing he had to do was clean up his mess, rinse off his clothes in the toilet, put them in a plastic bag they'd given him, and then take a shower. "After all of that, his dad said, Harry got his paddling. He said it was the only time he'd ever seen a child being spanked on the bottom but holding his head in pain. "Then, as was the rule in the house, they never spoke of it again, except in the way of telling the story for its humor value, which is how I heard it." "Gotta say as aversion therapy it worked too," Eddy said. "Took Harry a long, long time to be able to look a beer in the face again." Tattie had missed seeing them as she walked down the hall, but the sound of their laughter brought her back to the cafeteria. * * * * * "-and so I imagine she's either made her escape already, will make it soon, or is making it as we speak. Nick tried hard to avoid even the vaguest flicker of his eyes towards his watch. "Any questions?" Margo looked at him with a mixture of gratitude and sadness. "No Nick... no questions. Thank you... more than I can say." "On the subject of thanking me... I have a favor to ask." "Anything..." "From time to time, in our business, employees get hurt, and in circumstances where they can't go to the hospital without facing a lot of inconvenient questions, so they generally go to doctors who are, shall we say, a little shady. Only problem is, those doctors are pretty much known to all sides, us, the police, the Russians, the Chinese, the Mexicans, the Columbians... basically the law and anyone who walks on the wrong side of the law. That means that my people risk arrest or worse even going to those physicians. "I was wondering if, on occasion, under extreme circumstances..." "Of course Nick... although I think for the kind of injuries you're discussing, a clinic would be helpful and I can't see them where I work... even at night. Too much security..." "Not to worry, if I need your services, there will be a place with equipment and supplies made available. I... I don't like asking this... but things are going to get very hot for me and mine very soon. These men... they may be criminals, they may be murderers... but they're mine to take care of. I've known most of them all my life. "I have your cell number, if I need you, someone you won't recognize will call and ask to speak to Marjorie... if you answer, you act confused, in case someone's listening in, take down the number he'll give you and call it, they'll tell you where to go. If it goes to voice mail, he'll leave the number. "Thank you... even if you only save one of my people's lives, you're doing far more for me than I did for you. "I've got to get out of here... I've got a funeral to attend. Thank you again." Carol and Kelly hugged him goodbye, and then Margo hugged him, whispering in his ear, "I don't care what you think of yourself, Niccolo Philouma, you're a good man." He smiled and then he and men were gone. * * * * * It was sunny, a clear, bright, sunny afternoon with a few high clouds providing accent to the deep blue sky. Birds sang in the trees and the ever-present squirrels carried on their business all around the crowd of people. It wasn't the kind of day you think about when you think of funerals. All of the rites; the Vigil for the Deceased, the Funeral Liturgy and the Rite of Committal, had been officiated over by a priest who obviously had never even met Philip Philouma. His well-meant words complimenting the deceased were at best a bad joke, at worst an insult to the faith of the believers who knew Philip in life. As Nick stood by the graveside with his father, Rosie, her husband and her two children, he thought to himself that it was the last time his brother would embarrass the Family or insult anyone. As the massive casket was lowered into the ground, Nick knelt by his father's wheelchair, appearing to console him, in reality, whispering to him. "Everyone is either in place, or will be after they leave the get-together at the house. I'll be ducking out as soon as I can." "I don't want you goin' in nowhere 'til you know it's safe," his father croaked. "I ain't gonna lose you, 'specially not today." "Don't worry Father, the only place I'm even thinking of going in is Pedachenko's place, and I won't unless the boys say it's clear." "Good boy... smart boy." An hour and a half later, it was official, Niccolo Philouma was head of the Philouma family, the ring had been kissed by every made man in the family, most of who quickly left for other duties. His father was serving as his consigliore for the time being and Carmine Vicenzio was in line for the position, once he had a little time to learn the ropes. As Nick ducked out of the funereal gathering at the family home, which had been in reality his 'coronation', the 'soldiers' of the Philouma family were hitting the Russian Mob hard all over the city, going all out in an attempt to eliminate the threat from the 'Redfellas' and cause anyone else considering a grab for power to think twice. It was bloody, it was violent, it was, for the most part, successful. Elsewhere there were quieter operations going on, some less violent, but no less effective and on the whole, far more profitable. The hacked information on the Chinese money laundering and the account numbers where it all ended up eventually were sent to the Justice Department, and if the Chinese noticed that the accounts were shy a few million each, who were they going to complain to? Men dressed as Immigration officials were performing raids across the city and both the Mexican Mafia and the Columbians were finding themselves suddenly very low on troops, especially as none of the 'deported' individuals were ever to be seen again. In the meantime, gunfire, explosions and the crackle of flames continued to provide the accompaniment to the Philouma Family's dealings with the Russians. * * * * * She wasn't sure why she'd come... maybe just to have a quick gloat... maybe to see if fate would give her a shot at revenge. But she'd taken time off from her new job, time she really couldn't afford to take off since she hadn't had time to 'work' her way up in the company. She'd taken a cab since her car was in the shop and she couldn't afford a rental. She was riding the bus to and from work, barely making ends meet, and the reason for all this was sleeping in the hospital bed before her. They'd sure as fuck done a number on him, she thought. Pity they hadn't finished the job... she looked around and realized there were far too many devices monitoring his condition. Anything she did would probably have the staff running in before she could make her escape and she didn't know enough about the hospital to create enough of a diversion to give her a clear shot at him. And knowing Eddy, that fucking gorilla, there were people watching him that she didn't know about, but who'd probably already seen her. She realized she'd pushed her luck already and it was past time for her to leave. Turning toward the door she came face to face with a large male chest wearing a black Harley-Davidson t-shirt. "Figured you'd show up, bitch," Eddy said. * * * * * "Mrs. Sapperstein, would you come with us downtown, please? We have some questions we'd like to ask you about some material we found on your husband's computer." "That's Dr. Wohler-Sapperstein... certainly, let me grab my purse." * * * * * Karen and Patricia were pulling into the parking garage at the hospital when they passed Eddy in his truck leaving. "Who's that in the truck with him?" Patricia asked. "Holy-shit-on-a-cracker, that's Angie!" "Angie? Harry's ex, skank-bitch-from-hell Angie?" "Yeah, Angie!" Karen wheeled their car around once she was inside the garage and after dealing with a very confused parking lot attendant rolled out into the street. Both the women craned their necks around, back and forth, searching in vain for some sign of Eddy's truck. "Surely he won't hurt her, not after being seen with her in a public place like this," Patricia said, looking worried nonetheless. "Right now I've got no damn idea what the fuck Eddy will do," Karen replied, "and that's a very scary thing to have to say." Unnoticed by either of them, an unmarked police car drove past them with Margo in the back. * * * * * Nick coughed. "Can't believe that fuck Pedachenko booby-trapped his own club..." Smoke swirled around the basement room that had until recently been Dmitri Pedachenko's office. Through the door, Nick could hear the screams and cries of the children Pedachenko had kept there, stock for his trade. "Shoulda expected it, chess-playin' bastards," croaked Izzy. "Never trust no one who passes up poker for chess." "I'll remember that in the future," Nicki groaned. "Any of your phones still work? Mine's a mess... we gotta get out of here... grab whatever of the children are still alive, leave the rest." Izzy got up from where the shock of the blast had thrown him. He looked at his suit in disgust, "Fuck, I landed in Dmitri... I think I'm gonna hurl." "Fuck hurling, what about the money?" Nick's other bodyguard, Albert, asked. "Fuck the money. We've got to go," Nick replied, struggling to his feet. "Boss, you're bleeding," Izzy said, his eyes widening. "No shit? Huh..." And Nick Philouma fell to the floor amid the dust and rubble. With the end of Chapter 28, "Oil of Roses" goes on a brief, or maybe not so brief, given the speed of my writing lately, hiatus as I work on getting out some chapters of my other two series, which haven't been updated since October. Don't worry, the story definitely hasn't ended. Oil of Roses Ch. 29 Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. Thanks to my wife for handling the editing duties on this chapter due to difficulties with transmitting the manuscript to my normal editor. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * "Dr. Wohler-Sapperstein... would you mind if I just called you Dr. Wohler, as I understand you and your husband were getting a divorce?" Detective Martin asked as he ran a hand over his rapidly thinning hair. "Not at all, Detective Martin, that will be fine." "Alright Dr. Wohler, we found a lot of evidence of your deceased husband living a double life, and to put it rather indelicately, we'd like to know if you had any suspicions concerning his illegal activities?" "If I may ask, Detective Martin, what kind of illegal activities?" He leaned back in the creaky wooden desk chair that had been his second home for too many years. "Well... you sure I can't get you something, this is some pretty strong stuff?" "No, I'm fine thank you, what kind of illegal activities?" "These are some prints of picture files we found on his computer..." "Oh my God..." * * * * * "NO, NO, CALM DOWN, IT'S OKAY!" "Izzy... yelling at them... isn't going to help... I don't think... they speak English..." "Don't worry about that, Boss... aw, fuck this noise," Izzy said as he stuffed the last two children in the trunk of the car. Their screams were mostly muffled by the trunk lid. "Now you gotta let us get you in the back and outta here!" "Alright... now you can... put me in... OH SONUVABITCH!" "I'm sorry, Boss, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." "It's okay... Izzy... it's okay... no way around it... have Dickie get us... the fuck out of here." "You got it... DICKIE, MOVE IT!" "Wish you hadn't... felt called upon... to yell... inside the car..." "Sorry Boss." * * * * * "Angie, would you like me to run you by your apartment first? You know, 8312 Burlingame Lane, #351?" "How do you know where I live?" "Silly bitch, same way I know where you work, what bus you ride, what bars you hit on Friday night... you're bein' watched. I don't trust you and I'm damn sure not going to get caught nappin' where your venomous little ass is concerned." "Like you were with the two that damn near killed Harry?" An ominous silence filled the cab of the truck, floating in a cocoon of the ambient traffic noises that surrounded it. Angie swallowed, wondering if she'd just talked herself into an unmarked grave. After a time, Eddy said through gritted teeth, "Alright, you get that one for free... I deserve it. If I was you, bitch, I wouldn't bring it up again. Endin' you would make me feel better, like a kid getting' a new gawddamn puppy, and I really NEED to feel better right now." Her sense of self-preservation kept her mouth shut. "I guard my boy against what I know is out there, what I suspect is out there... and I didn't see those two shitheads comin'... that was my bad. But you... I'm just waitin' for a reason to disappear you. Keep on rememberin' that when your little coke-rotted brain starts havin' delusions of revenge, starts tellin' you how horribly you were treated, how you were the injured party in the divorce. Just remember that no one will ever find your body, and what's even more tellin' is that no one will go lookin'. No one." The rest of the ride back to her office passed in silence. True to his word, he knew where she worked without her having to say a word. * * * * * "No, Detective Martin, I never had any idea... I mean, as far as illegal activities... I know he frequented prostitutes, and that he liked them blonde with big tits and no brains... do you think that was maybe just a smokescreen?" "Well Dr. Wohler, I ain't no shrink, but I've seen a lot in my years on the job and it wouldn't surprise me if that's what it turned out to be. The evidence of his pedophilia is pretty overwhelming... you'll never have to see the apartment he kept on the South side and trust me, you should thank God for that... the man was a pervert and I'm just as glad the bastard's dead... uh, maybe I shouldn't have said that." "It's alright, Detective, I'm edging towards feeling that way myself." The cell phone in her bag rang and she looked at the bag as if it were something foreign. After a few moments, Detective Martin said, "Perhaps you might want to answer your phone? Might be important, you being a doctor and all." "Um, yes, yes you're right... sorry, this all has me a little rattled." She pulled out the phone and punched a button. "It already went to voice mail, pardon me a moment." She listened and then punched in a number. "Alright, I'll be there as soon as possible... yes, I understand." She closed the phone and slipped it back in her bag. "Detective, I hate to rush this but are we about through here? Something pretty important's come up with a patient..." "Oh yes ma'am, not a problem. If we have any further questions we know where to find you and if you think of anything else that might help us, you give me a call," he said, handing her one of the cards from a tray on his desk. "Can I get a squad car to run you anyplace? I mean, it would be faster than a cab." "Uh, no, this is important, but not quite that urgent," she said, managing a smile. "A cab will be fine. Thank you very much, Detective Martin, you've been most kind." "Not a problem, Dr. Wohler, thank you for your help." * * * * * "Ms. Turov, this is Izzy, I'm calling for the Boss... no ma'am, he's not able to talk right now... things have been better. Listen, he wants to ask a huge favor of you... right now... 88th and Penbrook, go around to the guard house at the back, they'll know you're coming... we need a translator... yes ma'am, yes we did... it went very well overall, but we got no one to talk to some kids we took out of Pedachenko's club... yes ma'am, we had a Russian translator but when the bomb went off... calm down ma'am, calm down, I think we'll all be fine but our translator's bleedin' from the ears and I think he'll be pretty useless for awhile... yes ma'am, we got out all that was still alive... alright, he'll thank you for this himself, soon as he's able." Izzy closed the phone and looked around the inside of the car. Terrified, bleeding, dirty children were everywhere, squeezed in on top of each other, barely leaving room for Izzy and Nick. There were children in the floorboards, curled up to escape from Izzy had no idea what, but they all had the look of frightened animals. The vans that were supposed to be transporting them had been parked next to the west wall of the club, where the bastard who had been the head of the Russian mob in the city had set one of the major explosive charges. The flaming vehicles probably couldn't be traced back to the Family... hell, if Izzy knew Nick, there was no way in hell they could be, but their loss left every vehicle they had left rolling away into the night packed with frightened, wounded, sobbing kids. He looked over to check the compresses they'd tied down across the holes in Nick's belly. They were almost soaked through, but the bleeding looked to have slowed dramatically. He saw that Nick was conscious, looking down at the boy in the floorboards before him. The boy was pretty, with an almost translucent quality to his skin, didn't look to be more than fourteen or fifteen, and was nothing but skin and bones. Izzy recognized him as the one they'd found chained to Pedachenko's desk, curled up in a basket, the kind you bought for a large dog to sleep in, covered in bits of Dmitri. Nick reached out with his hand and stroked the boy's fine pale brown hair. He smiled at him as the boy stared back at him with huge eyes, full of fear. Nick realized his actions might be sending the wrong signal, so drew his hand back and closed his eyes. "How far?" "Only about another ten minutes Boss... Dickie's keeping it under the limit. Hope everyone else is too... God help us if one of us gets stopped. Family men, some wounded, some dead, carloads of naked kids lookin' like we pulled 'em out of a war zone... the cops would love that, wouldn't they?" "Yeah Izzy, they sure would..." With that Nick's eyes slowly closed and he drifted off. As soon as he was sure Nick was out, Izzy leaned forward. "Dickie, you better pull off a miracle tonight. I want us there five minutes ago and you damn well better not let any fuckin' cop see us." As the car sped up, Izzy leaned back and pulled out the phone. Time to call the old man and tell him the news... Big Vic was going to be pissed to say the least. * * * * * She switched cabs twice and finally made it to the Sampson Building, 88th and Penbrook, a large three-story office building surrounded by a high wall, topped by razor-wire. As the cab let her out at the guard house, she couldn't help but notice the security cameras mounted at regular intervals along the wall, scanning the streets in constant motion. After showing the guard her I.D. he let her through and she saw one of Nick's bodyguards heading towards her on an electric cart. "Hop on, Doc, we're up to our assholes in fu... messed-up people," he said as he wheeled the cart around and came to a stop. "I was coming down to wait for ya, good timin', huh?" "Yes, it was... why are you covered in blood and dirt? Don't tell me Nick was stupid enough to-" "Oh no ma'am, nothing like that... we'd got the 'all clear' on the club before we let the Boss go in... but didn't nobody know the fuckface... pardon my language Doc, didn't nobody know the owner had booby-trapped the place on some kinda time delay... we think. Mighta been somethin' else." The cart shot up a ramp and under a raised gate on a loading dock. "Now in spite of what he says, you gotta see to the Boss first... we got ya two EMT's, they're workin'... tree-somethin'..." "Triage?" "Yeah, triage, and they tell me everybody else is stable enough for now... that ain't to say they'll stay that way, but... just get the Boss patched up... he was leakin' like a motherfuckin'... he was leakin' like a sieve." In spite of everything, Margo found a smile. "Alright, is it Izzy?" He nodded. "Okay Izzy, I'll see to Nick first." The cart came to a stop before a pair of swinging doors. "Right through there, Doc," Izzy said, "last room on the right. Look for my partner, Joey, he'll be outside the door." Margo got out of the cart and walked through the swinging doors into the last thing she ever expected to see – a hospital emergency room, going full blast. Her attention was drawn to the gurneys that lined the corridor, each with a child strapped to it. Her impulse to stop, to examine, to treat, was almost overwhelming, brought on by the sight of suffering children, but she remembered who was waiting for her down the hall and forced herself to move on. As she passed a doorway on her left, she saw someone she assumed was one of the EMT's tending to a grown man on an examining table. He finished his ministrations and turned, seeing her pass. In a moment he was walking beside her as she hurried down the hall. "I don't figure names are all that important, but I'm Carl," he said. "I hope like hell you're the doctor they told us was coming." "That would be me," she responded, "I'm Margo. Why the fuck are all these children strapped down?" "Nothing else we could do, Doctor. None of them speak English, none of us speak Russian. We didn't want to sedate them until we'd had time to do a more thorough work-up on them and they were freaking out in seventeen different directions at once. What would you have done?" She looked at him as they reached the last door on the right. "I'd have restrained them," she said, somewhat begrudgingly. "Best we could come up with too, ma'am," he said, grinning, as they entered the room together. "As far as the big Boss-man, looks to be three chunks of shrapnel in his abdomen. I figure you and me better scrub up, we got some surgery to do." "Where's the other EMT I was promised?" "Rob's working with the adults that got brought in... a lot of gunshot wounds." After a quick, cursory examination of Nick, Margo looked at Carl with a degree of admiration. "You do good work, and you're right. Okay, tell me we've got something that'll pass as an operating room?" "Yes ma'am, it's small, and I'll have to double as your gas-passer, but it's functional." The two of them wheeled Nick in and then headed off to prepare themselves. * * * * * Tattie wheeled in to the gatehouse, ready to deliver tons of attitude should her admittance be delayed, but the guard gave her drivers license a quick check and waved her through. She had barely parked before Izzy showed up to carry her inside. "So why did this Pedachenko have, and now why do you have, a horde of Russian children on your hands?" she asked as they sped towards the loading dock. "Sex trade, ma'am," Izzy answered. "Lot of money to be made in young ones, that's why he had 'em... we have 'em because the Boss didn't want 'em gettin' put in the system. He figures to funnel 'em through an adoption agency he knows of, find 'em good homes. I don't know what he's gonna do if nobody wants 'em though... most of these kids are a little old to be adopted easily. Not to mention havin' to warn their adoptive parents what kinda issues they might have, cause o' their past and all... but I don't worry about that, that's the Boss' problem and he's welcome to it. All I have to do is get you in there to calm 'em down and then get ready to keep Big Vic from goin' batshit all over cause o' the Boss getting' fucked... gettin' hurt." "Izzy, darlin', it's alright, I've heard the word before... I even use it... frequently..." "Yes ma'am, and that's fine, but the wife, she's tryin' to get me to clean up my language some... I kinda let some foul words slip out last time her folks was over. Thought she was gonna break my kneecap she was kickin' me so hard under the table." Tattie chuckled. "You're some kinda tough guy, Izzy... cleanin' up your language to make your wife happy." "You ever met my wife?" "No, can't say as I have." "She's got two things goin' for her. She scares me more than Big Vic, and I hope he never finds that out, and she's the most beautiful woman I ever seen... still not sure why she married me. So between scary, and the risk of no pus... no romancin' or nothin', I'll try to clean up my language. Last stop, emergency Russian translators out." Tattie grinned, hopped off the cart and stepped through the doors into a maelstrom of children's voices, all going a mile a minute in Russian. "(Vashti, what do you think these men are going to do with us?)" asked one girl, small and frail, no more than eleven. "(The same thing the others were going to do, they'll just instruct us with their fists since they don't speak Russian,)" answered an effeminate-looking boy, smudged makeup running down his face. Tattie assumed he was 'Vashti'. "(I don't want to be in America anymore, I want to go home,)" cried another little boy with blood caked all over the side of his face. "(Stupid shit, who among us do you thing still wants to be here?)" snapped a girl whose eyes were much older than her body. Inside, Tattie recoiled. There was so much pain here, so much need... and then she straightened up. She wanted to be a 'den mother'... well, here was a group that truly needed her. "(Children, children... calm down. My name is Tatiana, call me Tattie. These men are not going to hurt you. There are doctors here who are going to help you as soon as they can. In the meantime, how can I help you?)" The cacophony of responses had her smiling and holding her hands up within seconds. "(Children, quiet down... we'll have to do this one at a time. But first, let me see about getting some more people here to help you, okay?)" Whether it was exhaustion or shock, or maybe just hearing their own language spoken by a kindly voice, the children seemed to settle into place, waiting. "Joey, come here... do you think Nick would want some more help with all these kids, and with the Family men as well?" "Ms. Turov, I can't speak for the Boss, but I know he was real nervous about only having two EMT's and Dr. Wohler. If you got somebody in mind, and you're sure they can be trusted, I'd imagine the Boss would be willing to offer a real generous salary and benefits package. I don't think he expects this place to go out of business any day soon... and after all the shit we stirred up today, I don't think so either. But they'd have to be willing to work completely off the radar, you know, no talking about it, no changing their minds later." "The two women I'm thinking of shouldn't be any problem... let me give them a call... both of them have worked as pediatric nurses and lost their RN licenses for aiding and abetting assisted suicides. Last time I spoke with Debbie, they were desperate and both working in the same damn convenience store." An hour later, still in a state of shock at the deal Tattie'd offered them on Nick's behalf, Debbie Mullins and Wilma Zeising were hard at it. Wilma got pulled into the operating room to act as a surgical nurse when Margo saw her as Nick was wheeled out and one of the children was wheeled in. Debbie and Tattie were working on a short course in essential Russian for the nurse, as they sponge bathed their young charges and checked them carefully for any signs of injury. But more importantly, the were soothing the fears of children who had been pushed to the ragged edge of panic, cleaning wounds and dirty faces, coaxing smiles, bringing bottles of water and soft touches. * * * * * It was an exhausted and over-stressed Margo that finally finished the last surgery many hours later. She stripped off her scrubs, threw them in a bin, and ran a sink full of cold water. When it was three quarters full she put her head in and submerged it, twisting it back and forth before pulling it back out. When she opened her eyes again she found herself being stared at by Carl and Wilma. "Hey, every doctor has their rituals," she said, "that's one of mine... plus it feels marvelous after a long stint in the OR." "Whatever works for you, Doctor," Wilma replied, "myself, I could use about five shots of vodka and anything that even remotely resembles a bed." "Well, since I don't require the vodka at this point, I'll put myself on call, let Rob and you two ladies catch a drink and some shut-eye, if y'all wanna," Carl said with a grin, "c'mon, I'll show you where you can crash out. I'm pretty sure if you'd like, the Boss will have a room made up for you to stay in when we've got patients... I'd take him up on it. I think we're gonna be busy for quite sometime." Oil of Roses Ch. 29 The two of them walked out together and Margo headed in to check on Nick. She found him awake, and talking with his father. "I'm sorry, I'll come back later," she said as she backed out the door. "Nonsense," said Big Vic, "come back in. I understand I have you to thank for my son's life?" "No sir, or better said, not for the most part. You really have his bodyguard Izzy to thank for his life. He's the one who kept him from dying on the way here. Then you have Carl and Rob to thank for stabilizing him once he got here. They kept him alive until I could get to him. All you really have to thank me for is removing three chunks of a building from your son's gut and from what I saw of Carl in the operating room, he could've done the job as well, all he really needs is some confidence in himself." "You're working awfully hard to avoid having me owe you my thanks," Vic said, his face gone hard. "Have I pissed in your Cream O' Wheat somehow?" "Oh, I don't know, Mr. Philouma," she replied, her exhaustion evident in every word, "you tried to shut down Nick's attempts to give me the justice I asked for... attempts which, I might add, led directly to me being here to take part in saving your son's life. You saved my fiancées life when he was threatened by your other son, and I owe you something for that, but you would have continued to let Philip starve Tamara to death. I was there when Carol and my fiancée rescued her, I was driving the 'getaway car', so to speak, and what had been done to her was fucking inexcusable. You were allowing that to continue instead of bringing your son under control. So while yeah, you've minorly 'pissed in my Cream O' Wheat', mostly I just think you're a, how shall I put this, fuckin' douche bag. Yeah, I think that'll work." "I told you she was a piece of work, Father," Nick said. "You did indeed," the old man replied. "Alright Doctor, how do you think I should reward Izzy and the others?" "I don't know, how much is Nick's life worth to you?" she said, exhaustion driving her to sink into a chair. "More than all the money in the world... but we're not talkin' a payout, we're talkin' a token of my gratitude." Evil gleamed in Margo's eyes. "Fine, then as a token of your gratitude, one hundred thousand to Izzy, seventy-five thousand each to Carl and Rob." She waited for the outburst she felt sure was coming. "Done," said the old man, smiling back at her. "A quarter of a million dollars feels like an appropriate token to me. You want a fruit basket or anything, maybe a nice bouquet of flowers?" "You really are something," she said, "I'll be interested to hear if they get your 'token's." "Oh, they'll get them, Dr. Wohler... and for you, a floral arrangement, a fruit basket AND a box of chocolates." With that the old man wheeled himself around and headed towards the door. "Be back later, Nick. Gonna go make the rounds, see how the rest of the boys are doing." After he was gone, she got up and examined her patient. "He really is something, isn't he?" she asked. "Oh yeah," Nick replied, "people forget that being a cast-iron son-of-a-bitch isn't enough, you also have to be able to be charismatic and smooth as well... although I have to admit, while he can exhibit those qualities, they're really not his forte... OW... that hurt." "It was supposed to. You had chunks of masonry in your gut and I need to keep track of these holes I sewed up. Oh, and the size of your little hospital's staff has increased by two. Tattie'll be in to tell you about it later, I imagine. "Nick... you ended up needing me a lot sooner than I was thinking you would. I don't mean that to sound ungrateful, I'm not, it's just that I'm real tired and real stressed." "I know, and I'm sorry... if it had just been the boys, if no one had been all that seriously hurt... you would've never known about it. I'm sure Carl and Rob could've done a wonderful job and what they couldn't handle, we would've shuttled off to some of the normal 'back alley' doctors in town. "But when I saw the kids, even before the explosion, I figured to bring you in. I know you're not a pediatrician, but I wanted them looked at professionally, and under the radar, since I have no plans to have them get ground up by the system. Dmitri Pedachenko was a fucking monster, and the world is a much better place now that he's dead. I owe it to myself to try to clean up his mess." "Nick," Margo said, drawing up the chair and sitting down, "you can't stop the trade in children... it's too widespread and you're still just one man, even with your Family behind you." "Oh, I'm not thinking of stopping it anywhere but in my town, Margo... I'm not crazy. Something Tony used to say... 'a man does what he can do'. What I can do is the same thing he did with the production of snuff films in this town... shut it down. While I don't think I can ever clean up the Family's reputation to the point where we'll be lauded as public heroes again, I can do something. Stopping the traffic in children is a step. There are others I have planned as well, should I live through this." "Oh, you'll live, Nick, you're young and strong. I however am feeling very old and tired right now. I'm going to make a final set of rounds, then see about getting a ride back to the hotel. I'm very serious, Nick. If this war you've started continues, you're going to need to find more medical personnel. Not because I won't come, I will, I owe you more than I can say and it's a debt I pay willingly, but because I'm only one doctor, with two EMT's and two unlicensed RN's to help me. I have my normal clinic hours as well as my family to take care of. As much as I might want to give you and your 'invisible hospital' here a majority of my time, I simply can't." "And I would never ask you to... can I impose on you for a further favor?" he asked, looking remarkably like a little boy asking for another cookie. "Yes, of course," she responded, smiling in spite of herself. "Keep an eye open for other medical personnel who might be suited to working under the kind of arrangement we have here," he said, smiling in return. "Money and equipment aren't really an issue, and I'm willing to be very generous. But it does have to be people that can be trusted, completely." "Not a problem, I'll keep my eyes open for you. As far as I know, which isn't really saying all that much, what you're doing is rather unique in the annals of organized crime, Nick. It says a lot about you that you'd go to this trouble, basically building a hospital so your people can be treated and stay off the police's radar. Your men don't have to worry that getting injured means they'll probably be arrested as well. I bet this will pay off for you in the long run." Nick smiled as she left his room. He hoped it would pay off in the long run, he needed to build as much good will with the members of the Family as possible. Where he planned on taking it later on would tax even the most dedicated of his people. * * * * * Kelly put down her phone in shock. "Oh shit, I am so hosed." "What, honey, who was that?" Carol asked, padding into the sitting room of the suite "My mom." "Is everything okay?" "They're going to be in town for an educational conference in two weeks... they want to visit me while they're in town." "Okay, so what's so bad about that?" "Are you insane, my love? Have you forgotten where we live? Have you forgotten I don't have a job anymore? How do I explain to them about the three of you? How do I explain to my father, who was going to freak about me dating a girl, a white girl at that, that I'm going to marry not only a white man, but two white women as well?" "You could simply tell them we're your roommates, leave the hard discussion for another time. I'm sure all of us would gladly go along with that." "No," Kelly said, raising her head and squaring her shoulders, "no, I'm not going to act like I'm ashamed of or embarrassed by the people I love, by my family. I'm proud of all of you. I'm proud that you've asked me to be a part of this. I'm blessed to be a member of something very special." She looked into Carol's eyes and Carol was surprised to see tears in her eyes. "I won't lie about us, not ever. I've made my choice, it's the right one for me, and they can damn well either accept it, or not accept me." Carol went to her wife and held her, stroking her hair. "You are one of the bravest, most courageous, and possibly craziest people I've ever met. And you better damn well know, we'll be with you every step of the way, no matter what happens, no matter how it goes down." "I know... I just... oh God... this is going to be tough." * * * * * "-and you, Mr. Grimes, must get better and be up and on your feet in time for the Samhain Fetish Ball," Madame Cornelius said, her hand absent-mindedly stroking Li Kuan's leg. "You and your little coterie are already being spoken of by some of us, I think that the group of you arriving en masse, so to speak, would certainly mark your 'coming out' as members of the scene." "Madame Cornelius, remember that I want a quiet and peaceful life. Why would I want us to 'come out' at the Fetish Ball? And why on Earth are we already being talked about?" "My dear Mr. Grimes, you want to 'come out' at the Ball as a way of showing off your beautiful family and giving them the chance to dress up in their fetish best for a night on the town where the only eyebrows they'll raise will be in admiration. With Carol on your leash, Kelly on your wife's leash, your large friend Mr. Janak with Tamara on his leash, your friends Ms. Pinard and Ms. Keller, and your sister, my goodness Mr. Grimes, you and your group of friends will be the envy of almost everyone at the Ball. You should be proud of your family and friends, especially after what you've been through together. You're 'coming out' to be seen and to see others. To go to a party where practically anything goes, among people who, to one degree or another, share interests in relationships like yours." "Uh huh... and why are we being talked about?" "Mr. Grimes, you really didn't think that stories like you beating Philip Philouma in a mud wrestling match at a strip club to win Tamara aren't going to be spread?" she replied, her eyes twinkling. "Oh... my... God... look, that's not what happened at all-" "Of course it isn't, Mr. Grimes. While I might believe Mr. Janak might be the type to get naked and wrestle a man described as 'a human whale' in a large tank of mud, I'd hardly believe it of you. But that's the story... while one of the late Mr. Philouma's men probably told his girl a reasonably straight version, by the time it got to our little community it, predictably, bore little resemblance to the truth. "And then there's your drunken orgy in the Omni Bar that led to a fight with hotel security that ended with you all under arrest. You'll be happy to know that it was only with the spreading of much baksheesh that you weren't charged. You were allowed back into the hotel because you had your pets service the manager, or some such, one story says you gave him one of them for the duration of the stay. You kidnapped one of the bar's waitresses and were using her as a party favor. When her mother complained you got her fired. The girl ended up staying with your group by choice." "I think I'm going to be ill..." "Oh, it gets better, Mr. Grimes. The reason for your present physical condition is that after your fiancee's soon-to-be-ex-husband threatened her, you and your group broke into his house, tied him down and abused him in every possible way for hours. After the Omni Incident it was obvious the law wasn't going to touch you, so he hired men to kill you for what you did to him." "I am going to be sick," he said, frightened by how close to the truth part of the last rumor was. "That last one is a relatively fresh addition... evidently some people are finding his suicide note rather revealing." "I didn't know the note's contents had been made public." "Oh Mr. Grimes, the police department has more holes in it than a colander and secrets just pour out of it, especially into our little circle. Not surprising when you realize how many police officers play, or at least dabble, in our scene." "Lots of doms?" "Au contraire, my dear Mr. Grimes, lots of subs, screaming for attention. Generally speaking, for those who have no true vocation one way or another the way your pet Carol does, the rule seems to be that their orientation is the inverse of their real-life. High-powered executives, judges, police officers, members of the clergy... they can be so cute when they're kissing your boot, or under the lash, or stretched out on a rack. And when the powerless, the unimportant, the overlooked come out to play, there you'll find your part-time doms, just salivating for someone they can lord it over, someone to make them their be-all and end-all." "Explains why I'm not really the Master Carol needs... I feel no 'true vocation' for it and I really don't often feel powerless. On the other hand, my 'real-life' is rarely so stressful that I crave submission either... although my wife and the girls owe me a session that I mean to collect on, as soon as I'm able to." "But for the mastery she needs, I get the feeling your wife is quite capable... I enjoyed our time together earlier this week. She is a remarkable woman." "Oh, you've understated it considerably, Madame Cornelius. She is one of the four most incredible women I've ever met. I think her aptitude for 'mastery', as you put it, frightens her somewhat. If Carol's response wasn't so positive, it would be much harder for her to deal with. But as none of us mind it, and our resident submissive craves interaction with that facet of her personality, she's dealing with it quite well, and in fact learning to revel in it." "As well she should. As long as all parties are in accord, she should feel free to let that part of her grow and develop. "You wouldn't believe it, Mr. Grimes, but I spent the first thirty-five years of my life living in denial of my true self, living the kind of virtuous, upright, morally irreproachable life I'd been raised to believe was the only true path a southern lady could walk." "What happened?" "My husband, to make a long story somewhat shorter. We were married when I was seventeen and he was twenty-one, a banker from a family of very old and respected money. One day I came home from a meeting of the Daughters of the Texas Revolution early with an upset stomach to find my husband, on his knees, with a leash around his neck, while this slattern in a black dress, leash in one hand, and a whip in the other, held him in place with a shoe on his neck as she urinated upon his head. He had his tongue out, lapping it up like a dog and an erection that I'd never seen the like of in all our years of marriage... of course I'd never actually seen him naked before." "My God, what year was this?" "1955, Harry, and yes, here in the South that reality still existed. "Well, thirty-five years of repression, eighteen years of hating my marriage with divorce an unthinkable option erupted. The man was a pig from the day I first met him. I am not now nor was I then what society would classify as beautiful, but eighteen years of his comments about how unattractive I was... eighteen years of a sex life that consisted of his rare attempts to get me with child, attempts which thankfully never succeeded... eighteen years of his never denying his affairs, nor confirming them either... this was intolerable! I snatched the whip from the woman's hand, slapped her with those eighteen years of pent-up anger behind my hand, knocked the silly girl into a door facing and she collapsed to the floor. "Then I gave my husband the beating of a lifetime. By the time I was through blood and semen were mixing with her urine on the floor of our bedroom. He had an amazing tolerance for, and desire for, pain. This was quite alright with me, my most excellent Mr. Grimes, because I had a great deal of anger to work through. "And when I was done and he was passed out on the floor, I turned my attention to the woman. Imagine my surprise, Mr. Grimes, to find her kneeling in a submissive posture behind me, eyes on the floor. I found out later she was a true submissive, very much like your Carol, who was working as a prostitute for a pimp who required her to play either role, per the customer's request. "I was standing with my back to my beaten husband, who I knew deep inside was never going to be any threat to me again, and before me was a somewhat attractive young woman, showing respect and submission... and Mr. Grimes, the smells in the air, all of our sweats, the blood, the semen, the pheromones, the urine... I was more aroused than I'd ever dreamed I could be. I started advancing towards this woman and she began to beg me to let her please me... I had no idea what she was talking about. How could a woman please a woman? Was she talking about something sexual? Sex wasn't pleasurable, not in the least." Harry tried hard to stifle his smile. "Oh my dear Mr. Grimes, smile if you like... laugh if you like... I have, many times, in the years since. But anyone who played contract bridge at some of the tables I played at religiously knew how to bluff and I bluffed my way through that encounter, placing the onus on her, requiring her to prove to me that she was capable of pleasing me, and then riding out what happened afterwards under my best mask of aplomb. "It was a life-changing afternoon and evening. She never returned to the man who had sent her out. In fact, for the next twelve years, she was never more than thirty feet from my side and after a short time of training and adjustment made a very suitable ladies maid, in addition to her other duties. She slept in my bed and my husband, until his death in 1966 of a stroke, happily slept on the floor at the foot of the bed. "I think your fiancée and I are somewhat alike, Mr. Grimes, although I suspect she's far less... severe... in her dominant tendencies than I. I'm pleased beyond words that the two of you found each other, for both of your sakes, as well as your darling little Carol's. "And Kelly? Oh, Mr. Grimes, Li Kuan was positively soaking over her." The severe Oriental woman smiled her sharp-toothed smile and beneath her top Harry could see that her nipples were like steel. "She was most desirous of stripping naked and going up against Kelly in a fight for dominance right there in the hotel room. I've had to convince her that while she might win the battle, she'd lose the war as I'm sure the rest of your family wouldn't allow her to hurt their friend and lover. She was almost inconsolable. But then we acquired a new playmate for her and now she is like a child who, unable to have one puppy, fixates on another. For my own part, she is quite exquisite and makes a beautiful addition to your family. Someday you will have to tell me how she came to be a part of your group. "But for now, we must be going... Li Kuan needs to feed and water her new pet and I have a client arriving at the house in a half hour. If you need anything, my dear Mr. Grimes, you know you have only to call." "As always, your visit has been the highpoint of my day, probably my week, Madame Cornelius, thank you so much for your time and company." "Nonsense, the pleasure was all mine, I assure you. Au revoir!" As she and Li Kuan left the hospital room, Harry was free to show his amazement as well as his amusement. If her story was to be taken at face value, the woman was in her mid-eighties and there was no way he would have guesstimated her as being over sixty-five. He buzzed for the nurse. Time for another thrilling bedpan adventure! Oil of Roses Ch. 29 * * * * * Late Monday morning when Margo woke up, she felt much better than she had when she'd stumbled into the suite and gone face down on the bed. Her wives had undressed her at some point during her sleep, but she'd certainly never noticed. She smiled to herself. They could have sold her pussy for five dollars a go to passing strangers and she wouldn't have noticed. She stretched long and sinuously. After a trip to the bathroom, brushing her teeth and gargling with mouthwash she threw on a robe and stumbled out into the sitting room. She was greeted by the sight of Nicki, Kelly and Carol, reading the paper and relaxing. Then her eyes were drawn to the riot of color that covered the bar counter and the table. "Let's look at this logically, Big Mama," Kelly said. "You leave. No one knows where you are. We get a voicemail telling us you're alright and you'll be back whenever. You come back dead tired, stinking, and then all these flowers and gifts start arriving for you." "You should have told us if we were in financial trouble, Margo my love," Carol continued, "I would've gladly paid however much was necessary to keep you from having to become a high-end call girl." "Turning to prostitution, no matter how good the reason... I'm not sure if you're really the kind of woman my brother needs to be marrying," Nicki finished. Margo looked at each of the participants through bleary eyes as a smile slowly curled up the corners of her mouth. "Ladies, it's a measure of my deep and abiding love for each of you that I let you get away with that and live, before I've even had coffee or something to eat," she said as her stomach rumbled loudly enough to be heard by everyone. "Are any of you hungry?" The chorus of assent was unanimous so she continued. "Carol, call up room service, get us some food on the way...order me eggs, sunny side up, bacon, toast, something potato-like and unless one of you is somewhat decent with that coffee-maker you bought, coffee... juice as well." "I'll make the coffee," Kelly said. "We experimented yesterday and it seems I'm closest to achieving Harry's level of quality." Margo bent down and hugged her. "That's fitting, somehow," she said, running her hand down Kelly's naked body. She stood up. "So," she said, looking at Carol and Kelly, "which of you gets bath girl duty after we eat and I see what all this floral madness is about?" "Uh, that'd be me, actually," Nicki said. "Margo looked at her in surprise, but then smiled and went on to look at the cards that were attached to the six large floral arrangements that were filling that corner of the room. Starting with the grandest, she was not at all surprised to read: "Dr. Wohler, As promised, everyone got their 'tokens'. As promised, you'll get yours. Thank you for the life of my son, The Fuckin' Douche Bag" As she began to expect, three more of the arrangements bore cards from Izzy and his wife, Carl and Rob. What she hadn't expected were the flowers from Debbie and Wilma. She was confused until she read Wilma's note. "Margo, For some reason, the Boss' father felt called upon share his joy at his son's survival with us. When I asked him why we were getting twenty-five thousand apiece, he told me to thank you, so thank you. A lot... really... a whole lot... a paying-off-my-car-loan lot. It's been a most confusing day and a half. Just thought I'd let you know, everyone seems to be doing okay. We had a minor scare with one of the kids vomiting blood but Rob figured it was probably an ulcer and started treating it like one. Sure enough, calmed right down...poor little girl, Tattie says her name is Svetlana. Barely fourteen and an ulcer... not really surprising though, considering the stress they've lived under. When you come back in, you should probably take a look at her, but the major reason I'm writing all this is to let you know there's no rush, everything's going well. Gonna wrap this up and let the deliveryman get started, Tattie sends her love and says she'll be there soon, Wilma" Margo found herself almost liking the douche bag. And sure enough, there was a huge box of chocolates with a duplicate of the first note from him. And a fruit basket with the same note, except for an addition. "P.S. Don't eat the hard, black banana." She examined the fruit basket more carefully and saw what he was referring to. An oblong black box, devoid of markings, hinged on the one side... she turned it over. Five words adorned it: 'The House of Harry Winston'. With trembling hands she opened the box. She found herself sitting on the floor, though she couldn't remember how she got there, with the other women rushing to her side. There in the box, set in precious platinum, were over 180 flawless diamonds; marquise, round and pear-shaped, a classic wreath necklace that glittered like the stars come down to Earth. The other women couldn't possibly have been more surprised by her reaction. "THAT SLIMY, DOUBLE-CROSSING COCKSUCKER!" * * * * * "Well, there's absolutely no doubt that Big Vic likes you... and that he really appreciates the work everyone did keeping Nick alive," Carol said as she mopped up the last of her syrup with the last of her pancakes. "Well I'm happy he's happy but I didn't want his thanks, don't want his thanks... I don't really want anything from the old man but for him to hurry up and die so God can see to his ultimate judgment." "Uh, Big Mama, that would sound a lot more convincing if you weren't sitting there naked, except for a diamond necklace a certain old man sent you," Kelly observed, barely keeping the smile from her face. Fire sparked in Margo's eyes for an instant and then she grinned. "Yeah... but... but they're... they're diamonds..." she wailed, pathetically. "Oh no," Nicki said, "they're a great honkin' buttload of diamonds... let's not let it sound like we might be talkin' about two or three of 'em, no, there's beaucoup diamonds being discussed." "True, true, all true," Margo said, hanging her head in faux shame, "we are talking an ass-mass of diamonds." "Yeah, and it ain't no Cub-Scout-what-got-to-pack-two-wallets-to-look-like-he-got-an-ass ass-mass, we're talkin' a Patricia ass-mass," crowed Kelly. "We're talkin' that 'oh-I've-just-got-to-kiss-it-for-an-hour-or-two' kinda ass-mass." "Girl does have a beautiful butt," Carol said, "nice and fleshy." "Well, it looked good from what little I've seen of it," Nicki chimed in, "but I haven't really gotten a look at it in all its naked glory." "Oh, you will," chuckled Margo. "Once she got a little comfortable with us, she really fell in love with our kind of parties. And from the way she responds to the room-full-of-sex-vibe, Karen has no room to complain about it, either. I'm thinkin' Karen would be the first to ask what was wrong if Patricia decided to stop dragging her to our little hedonistic get-togethers." "You're right about that," Carol said. "I'm so glad they started coming, no pun intended. Well, if y'all're going to go do the shower thing, y'all better get going." "You know, Nicki, I strongly suspect my wife Carol wants us out of the room, for some reason," Margo said, smiling. "I think you might be right, sister... I suspect she has designs upon your wife Kelly." Carol's hand reached over and grabbed a handful of Kelly's hair. "Not really plans with Kelly," she said, dragging the woman out of her chair and over to her, forcing her to her knees. "But Princess has requested some togetherness, haven't you sweetie?" "Yes Mistress." "So while you two are doing the shower thing, and probably enacting some terribly erotic bath girl scene from my beloved's twisted imagination, I'm going to be out here, dealing with this one," she said, stroking the side of Kelly's face. "Alright, I leave you to your debauchery by heading off to mine. Fare well where ere ye fare!" And with that Margo and Nicki strolled arm in arm towards the bedroom and the bathroom beyond. After the door closed, Carol looked down at her wife. "Do you need to talk before, during, after or all of the above?" "During, I think Mistress," Kelly replied. "Then go make the hide-a-bed ready and I'll join you there." The door to the bedroom opened again. "Carol, love, forgot something. Here!" Carol reached up instinctively just in time to catch Margo's diamond necklace. "As far as I'm concerned, my loves, this belongs to all three of us. You wear them for awhile." And once again the door closed. Before she could even get the clasp undone, Kelly was there, taking it from her hands, opening it and placing it around her neck, then securely refastening it. "Thank you, Princess. Is the bed ready?" "Yes Mistress... you look lovely in those diamonds." "As will you, my pet, when it's your turn to wear them." * * * * * Margo stood in the shower, the hot water cascading off her in rivulets that caressed the curves of her body as they ran all the way to her feet. "Mmmm, God... you have no idea how many times I dreamed of this, standing in that damn OR." "I don't know... I've had some stories that required me to be on my feet, literally, for ten to fourteen hours at a time... I think I can understand somewhat. Raise your arms." "Oh no, honey, I'll tend to my pits. I wouldn't want to knock you out. I think my deodorant gave out about four hours into surgery." "Margo, love, I grew up in the same house with Harry. I hung around him and Eddy. Funk is nothing at all new to me. Goddamn, he used to come in from a night out and smell so bad I thought he was into bestiality with skunks." Margo chuckled and raised her arms, bracing her hands against the tiled wall. "Alright, but I warned you." As Nicki ran the soapy scrub mitt up Margo's sides, gently scrubbing her armpits, she said, "Oh, you're not bad at all... and I'm going to make you all better." She continued to soap and scrub her sister's body, slowly and sensually. "Goddamn, Margo, this is all so strange! I come down for a visit, my brother tells me a story that sounds too good to be true about the fairy tale life he's leading, unbelievable tragedy strikes but even so, now I'm living somewhat the same fairy tale." Margo parted her legs as Nicki discarded the mitt and began to soap between her thighs. "Oh, I can understand why it would seem strange, Nicki... not too long ago I was married to a man I hated, I mixed sleeping pills and lots of alcohol pretty much daily... ummm, that feels good... and I was so repressed about my own sexuality that I could barely admit I had needs at all. Carol was living with an owner who abused her regularly, couldn't have respected her less if he tried, and she was, according to her, 'just passing the days until he killed me'. Kelly was living to work and working to go to school, no real plan for her future, just following her interests to see where they took her. She was too disinterested in anyone to pursue a sex life... which still amazes me, given the Kelly I've come to know and adore... wondering if there was something wrong with her inside because she felt this huge emptiness that nothing had ever been able to fill. Eddy was slowly killing himself, working non-stop and abusing his body with alcohol in extreme amounts, playing Russian roulette with his sex life and severely punishing himself for an accident that occurred when he was nine years old. Tamara was trapped in a no-escape situation and being slowly starved to death by, from all accounts, one of the most worthless pieces of shit to ever walk on two legs and call himself a man. "If you keep doing that right there, this conversation is going to get cut short." "I'm sorry. Put your foot up on the rim of the tub." "Certainly, and don't be sorry, just save it for later. Karen was on her way to working herself to death, alone and as far as she knew, unloved, or at least unloved in the romantic sense. Patricia was pining for the woman she loved more than she'd ever loved anyone, but who she just couldn't live with, and from what she told me one night, actively looking for someone who could handle Karen's work-centric lifestyle so the woman she loved wouldn't be alone. "And then there was your brother... who was just dead inside, and rotting... septic actually, so poisoned and so hurt that Carol and I believe it was truly impossible for him to see anything outside his pain. Karen's convinced it was just a matter of time before he conspired with the universe to die outside as well... oh yeah... the way you wash hair, you could always take up a second career in the beauty industry, Nicki... oh my God, that feels good... and Karen freely admits that when Carol called her that first morning she and Harry were together, she thought that was it, that was the phone call telling her Harry was dead. She felt it was that close. "Ah, now that the rinse is through, do you need bathing?" "No, got pretty much the same treatment I just gave you from Carol and Kelly earlier." "Well then, let's dry off, shall we? Then go lie down and continue to talk... and whatever." * * * * * "Ah... ah... ah... alright Princess... that's enough... okay... that's fine... oh my... you do have a most talented tongue, my love." "Thank you, Mistress." "So what now, most beautiful one?" "I think my need to serve has been sated for awhile... can we cuddle up and talk?" "Of course, silly bitch, get up here." As Kelly curled up in her arms, Carol began cleaning Kelly's face with her tongue. "Uh, sweetheart," Kelly said, "what you're doing is definitely not conducive to talking." "What is it conducive to?" Carol asked, smiling coquettishly. "Me throwing you down and us stabbing each other in the hootchie with dildos till our arms fall off." "Not that that doesn't sound tempting, but perhaps you're right, talking might be what's called for." Carol got up and brought back a warm, wet towel from the bar area and continued to wash Kelly's face. "Now, what did you want to talk about, my love?" "Well, in all this proposal business, everybody's been focusing on how Harry and I feel about each other and it's no secret by now, not even to me, that I am in love with him and he's pretty much my best friend in the world as well." "No reason he shouldn't be." "I agree... but I needed to let Margo and you know how I felt about y'all. I've talked with Margo... I'm in love with the two of you too, just in different ways. I mean, with Harry it's sappy, romantic, oh-God-I-could-stare-into-his-eyes-forever love, as well as the friendship; with Margo it's trust. It's not that I distrust you or Harry, not in the least... it's just that I trust her more. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her... nothing that I can think of. And I've thought of some pretty severe shit, especially with what went down in the park." Carol smiled. "I know the feeling... it's part of how I feel about Harry. I think it scares the crap out of him, to know that someone, anyone, would do whatever he told them to, no questions asked... and that evening in the park tested that real hard." "I imagine so." The beautiful woman curled up and Carol put her arms around her. "With you, Carol, it's... it's hard to for me to say... you own me. While there are places I'd go and things I'd do for Margo that I might not for you, or might not without discussion or convincing, she doesn't own me. She can call for 'Princess' and I can resist. You I don't think I can... and I certainly know I don't want to. The night I showed up at y'all's door you took me, you claimed me," her voice faltered as tears began to run down her cheeks, "and you changed my life in ways neither of us could have dreamed of. I never knew what 'home' truly meant," she continued as her lover began to gently kiss away her tears, "until I started hanging with you wonderful people." Her cries became sobs, wrenching their way up from somewhere deep inside her, someplace where she'd hidden her loneliness and emptiness. "I'm yours... nothing held back... and I don't ever... want you to let me... go..." "Shh, shh my darling... I promise you, I'll never let you go. We promise you, we'll never let you go. The only person who can take you away from us is you." With a loud sniff Kelly sobbed, "Ain't happenin'... not now... not ever... I'm afraid y'all... are stuck with me." "Oh damn," Carol said through her own tears, "now we're really in for it. You just remember, Kelly Culberson, anytime you start feeling the least little bit insecure, your ass belongs to me and I will never let you go." "Thank you, Mistress, thank you so much. I love you so much. I also need to ask you a big favor. I need you to hold my hand while I do something that scares the hell out of me." * * * * * "So why did you volunteer for bath girl duty, Nicki?" "You mean being naked with one of the three beautiful women in my brother's harem-" Margo put her hand to Nicki's mouth. "Shh, we do not use the 'h' word. It makes Harry absolutely crazy. He goes off on a 'bad porn story' rant that while very entertaining to listen to, really is a reflection of his deep upset." Nicki took her sister's hand and kissed it, her tongue wandering across the palm slowly. "Alright, no use of the 'h' word... you mean being naked with one of my brother's beautiful wives-to-be isn't enough of a reason?" Margo's hand stroked the soft and supple side of her future sister's breast. "Normally, perhaps... but I'm sensing another motive too." "Well..." * * * * * Kelly's hand was in a death grip on Carol's and her wife suppressed the wince she felt trying to show on her face. "Mama? Yeah, I know we just talked earlier today... I've got some things to tell you, and I want you to listen with an open mind, and know that I'm happier right now than I've ever been in my life... and when it's all over, I'm going to need you to find a way to help Dad understand... yes, I met someone special... and then I met two more special people..." Carol's fingers were growing cold from the reduced blood flow but that was alright. She could endure this to help Kelly through this conversation. Carol's other hand gently stroked the necklace of glittering stars that swam against the beautiful darkness of her wife's neck, light shining off the facets and casting tiny dancing reflections on her fingers. * * * * * "Nicki, darling... you're obviously having problems talking about whatever it is... would you like me to take a guess, see if we can't jumpstart the conversation that way?" "Alright, but I don't think you're going to guess it." "You want to make love with your brother." The look of amazement on Nicki's face was priceless, and it was an image that would stay with Margo for the rest of her life. Oil of Roses Ch. 30 "Hi honey... no... I'm fine... really I am... Randy... Randy, don't cry... you know you can't come here... no, it doesn't make any difference that I'm the boss now... I know, I want you here too... I knew you were out of town and I didn't want you flying back when there was nothing you could do so I waited till you got home... yes you can kick my ass for it later... no baby; to be truthful I was never so scared before in my life. Then Margo showed up and they whisked me into the OR and I was out of it before I knew what was happening. Next thing I remember was waking up in here... yes, they're taking very good care of me... bored out of my gourd, yes... well, a little, I sent Izzy to buy me something to read... yeah, the new Roy & Sandra Wells thriller, "Date With A Dark Angel"- it's pretty good, I just don't feel like reading all that much, got too many things I need to be doing... I should be able to come home in a couple of days... yes, I promise I'll take it easy... what do you want her number for? Oh, you think you're going to call her and have her put me back in here if I don't take it easy? Have I told you how much I love you? Well, I love you more than the stars love the sky, more than the clouds love the wind; I need you more than the fish need the sea, more than the trees need the ground; I want you more than Madonna wants another hit, more than you and I want to kill Paris Hilton... God it's good to hear you laughing... sure, I don't mind, you know I've got no problem if you never want to work again... yeah, I know, you'll have the whole damn place rearranged by the time I get out of here... I'll see you in a few days... I love you... bye babe." * * * * * In his room Nick Philouma lay in his bed and tried not to worry. He was reasonably sure he had talked his father out of doing anything rash but a good size cemetery could be filled with people who had died as a result of assumptions like that concerning members of his family. Randy was finally back in town and had been told. To take his mind off his senseless anxiety, he studied the walls of his room. As the 'hospital' had to remain secret for as long as possible, there were no windows for anyone to see in through or use laser microphones on. To fight the sense of claustrophobia this might produce, the walls were painted in soothing shades, all decorations chosen for their calming effects upon people. It was the most boring place he'd ever been in his life. As the door opened he almost looked forward to some form of painful poking and prodding to relieve his ennui. He was most pleasantly surprised to see his sister Paula slip in. "Hey bro, what the hell happened to ya?" "You really don't know or are you just making conversation?" "Well of course I know already, silly. I went to see the old man before comin' here or else I never woulda known where to find ya. Ya know, ya oughta stop takin' so many risks, the old man ain't gettin' any younger or any healthier and somethin' like this coulda been just the thing to croak him right off. Come to think of it, I'm kinda surprised it didn't, considerin' you're all he has left now, then again, he's always been stronger than any of us thought he was." The changes the years, and other factors, had wrought in his sister were nothing short of miraculous. While she still had all the physical features she'd grown to maturity with, it was if the slight problems in their placement had been resolved to beautiful effect... as if all that was less than lovely in her appearance had stepped slightly to one side, allowing her inner beauty to take its place front and center. Gone was the clumsiness of her youth, replaced with movements at once graceful, powerful and sensual. The body which had once been chubby, to put it politely, had become magnificently full-figured, a body that demanded attention and delighted the eye, no matter what the viewer's opinions on personal beauty. Her scent washed over him as she bent down to kiss him and even to him, the mixture of natural scents coming from her was intoxicating. He moaned appreciatively as her cool lips pressed his cheek. But even after being born and raised in the South with its slow speech and melodic drawling, she spoke like the stereotypical Yankee... far too quickly and far too raucously. "So anyway the old man tells me you did Philip. Never would've thought he'd'a lasted this long, dumb as he was. I mean, even the blind squirrel finds the occasional nut but muthafucka, that squirrel was blind, deaf, dumb, and crippled from goddamn birth. Wish I coulda made the funeral but you know... not happenin'. L sends her love, by the way, says you bein' gay is still a waste o' some o' the prettiest man she ever laid eye on, but that's just her yankin' Tommie's chain a little cause you ain't THAT pretty, not that I wouldn't do ya if I wasn't related an' all, but fuck, I know what your farts smell like. Besides, speakin' o' the funeral, not much good could come o' me seein' Rosie, remindin' her o' things she don't wanna be reminded of. So how is the 'normal one'? She and that shlub she married doin' okay? I swear to you, he ever lays a hand on her, 'normal' or not I'm gonna rip his head off, shit down his neck, pop out his eyeballs and use that fuckin' melon o' his for a fuckin' bowlin' ball, go pitch me a few frames, you know what I mean?" The laughter she brought with her hurt his body, but Nick found his spirit lightening with every second as he and his sister caught up on each other's news. * * * * * "Sweetie, it's funny as hell to watch, but close your mouth already, I'm afraid you might catch a fly or something," Margo said, caressing her sister's face. "But... how... I never... what..." "Nicki, my wife Carol is so damned intuitive I'm probably going to start referring to her as our 'hoodoo woman'. She reads people frighteningly well and after the evening you and she and Kelly spent together, certain things slid together in her head. She came to me and we talked about it. She was certain enough of her 'read' on the situation to be willing to bet all her worldly fortune on it, which was more than convincing enough for me... I believed her quite easily right off the bat." "Oh God... look Margo, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have... I'm sorry. Can we just forget this whole conversation ever occurred?" Margo took the frightened and embarrassed woman in her arms and hugged her tightly to her chest. "No, Nicki, no we can't. That box has already been opened, Ms. Pandora, and we have to deal with it. Now, when we're through talking, if you decide you never want Harry to know of this conversation, that's how it will be. How you feel about him is your business and I don't think any of us would have a problem helping you keep that a secret. But we are going to have to talk about it." "Oh God... I'm sorry, it all seemed so much easier and so much sexier when it was me and my imagination planning this conversation and the way things would play out. Now everything's just jumbled up and confused." "Don't worry, sis," Margo replied, releasing Nicki to recline on the bed and stroking her hair, "some night, over a BIG OL' bowl of dope, I'll tell you about the night Carol seduced me and what an absolute basket case I was. If that story doesn't make you feel better about tonight you can feel free to have me do something terrible... like bathe you with my tongue." "So that would be terrible would it?" Margo lowered her head and ran the tip of her tongue up the line from her sister's belly button, between her breasts to the tip of her chin. "Horrible beyond my ability to express," she purred before kissing Nicki deeply. Before things got too interesting, Margo broke the kiss and lay back. "But first, talk." "What do you want me to talk about?" "First off, try to convince me why I should let my husband sleep with you, regardless of the fact he's your brother," Margo said, smiling encouragingly. "Maybe that'll help you get things straight in your own mind. Then, if we get past that hurdle, we can worry about the whole incest thing." "And after that?" "Well, assuming there is an 'after that'... we figure out if Harry will be able to handle the situation." * * * * * "Mama... Mama, stop crying... Mama... I know this wasn't what you had in mind when you raised me to think for myself, to find out what I wanted, to go for it and make it my own. But it's what happened. You raised me to be strong and to do what's right for me... that's what I'm doing." Kelly's hand fiddled with the necklace, her fingers running up and down the platinum and diamonds until she notice it and forced her hand to her lap. "Mama, you know how I never really fit in anywhere? Well here I fit in... yes ma'am, I thought about that when I started to realize how I was feeling about these people and that was exactly how it felt." She put her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone. "She's not too happy that's she's having to eat her own words... she told me that when what was right for me came along, there'd be no doubt in my mind, that the only thing that could stop me and what was right for me from recognizing each other was me. "Yes Mama, I'm still here... was just filling in Carol on some background... yes she's here with me, no way I could face this conversation alone... no ma'am, you're right, and no reason I should have to... Mama they're all that way, whatever I decide, they support me... Mama, I'd love for all of you to meet, but Daddy... "I'll believe that when I see it... I love you too... yes, like I said before, here with them, I'm 'home'. "I will... I love you and thank you, Mama... okay, bye-bye." Kelly closed her phone and put it on the table by the hide-a-bed. "Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Carol said, the tone of her voice a dead giveaway that she was joking. Kelly looked at her, shock and wonder mixing with the tears in her eyes. "I cannot believe I managed to live through that phone call," she said. "Thank you, my love, thank you so much for being here for me." Her voice broke as she continued, "She understands, I think she really understands. And if she does, she'll find a way to explain it to Dad." Carol slid down into the bed and pulled her wife down with her. "I think my lovely wife needs cuddling," she said, "and I know I need to cuddle her." The sounds of softly murmured endearments, sniffles and the gradually fading sobs filled the sitting room. * * * * * In the suite's bedroom, Margo held her sister while Nicki tried to put her thoughts in order. "So I guess in the end, it's that once I had time away and had matured I gained enough detachment from those years together to see Harry as a 'man who happens to be my brother', not just 'my brother'. And if I remove the 'who happens to be my brother' as irrelevant, then I see Harry as a man... and I shouldn't have to explain to any of the three of you why I'd find him attractive. "But deeper than that, he was, in retrospect, the man who kept it all together for me, made sure I was safe and taken care of while I was still in high school, made sure there was a home for me, even if it was a home with some pretty sad memories. And on the rare occasions when something came up that Harry couldn't take care of, well, he'd put me in the car and we'd go talk with Eddy. "Honestly Margo, by the time I got out of high school I had two really big cases of hero-worship going for Eddy and Harry. I mean, I knew about their 'warts', so to speak, but there didn't seem to be anything that the three of us couldn't handle together. "I remember when I was having major problems deciding what university I wanted to go to... God, I was obsessing over that and the more I fixated on the question, the less idea I had as to where I really wanted to go. "So Harry set up a get-together at this very nice steakhouse that unfortunately is no longer with us, Dunagan's. He got us reservations for early in the afternoon on a Thursday, made sure we got a large table, told the maitre de that we weren't to be disturbed and he, Eddy and I sat down, had a marvelous meal, and then spread out all my brochures and catalogues and started going over pro's and con's of the various schools I was looking at. The two of them were treating me as if they were my college advisors, or my fathers, but really they were like gardeners... they just kept trimming away my confusion until I looked up and said 'Well, I looks like I go to the University of Houston. "That was Thursday afternoon... Friday night I ran across them at a mutual friend's party and they were both baked out of their gourds." Margo's laughter echoed through the bedroom. "I don't mean 'high', I mean so far beyond 'high' as to be in low earth orbit. I think it's a good thing breathing is an autonomic function or they'd have been too stoned to remember to do it. "But that was Harry... when I needed him, when anyone needed him, he was there, one-hundred-percent... and when he wasn't actively 'needed' anymore, he was living his life the way he wanted to." "Oh God," Margo said, wiping the tears of laughter from her face, "I know what you mean. I forget what the occasion was... no, I remember now, it was one of Cindy Green's Christmas parties... she used to invite all of the class she could get in touch with every year, sort of a mini-reunion. "Eddy hadn't shown up that year, he didn't show up very often, but Harry had and was trashed... not to the point of being a gibbering idiot or being sick, but it was real evident that Harry was three sheets to the wind and sailing to win the Americas Cup. "He and Cathy Breeden weren't seeing each other all that much anymore, although they were still getting together to fuck like maniacs from time to time. I can say now that I hated her for that because I was so goddamned envious. But anyway, she comes squealing up to Cindy's house, looking for him. She'd been home, visiting the folks and her dad had gone off on a tear, started hitting her mom, she'd gotten in the middle of it and he'd proceeded to beat her all around the living room like she was a piñata. "All of a sudden," Margo continued, "Harry's 'There'... I mean, he was still physically inebriated, no way to shake that off, but I'd swear to you in court with my medical license on the line that he was mentally sober. Sat down with her on Cindy's front lawn and they talked about what Cathy wanted to do. He ended up going to the police with her, sat where she could see him while they took her statement, took photos of her injuries, finished up everything they needed from her. Then the sergeant asked him to drive her to the hospital, have her checked out in the ER and Harry told him he couldn't, he was too drunk to drive. Cop wouldn't believe him until they Breath-alyzed him." "Yeah, that's the man who happens to be my brother, Margo. As to why you should let me sleep with your husband... you shouldn't. If I was the one married to him I wouldn't share him with anyone else but I'm real selfish and real insecure that way." "You think I'm not?" Margo asked, eyebrows raised. "In a way, Sis, Harry ending up in the hospital has helped me realize a lot of things about our relationship that have eased my mind considerably. Before the accident, I 'knew' in my mind that we were all cross-connected but in my heart, so to speak, it still felt like Harry was the lynchpin to the entire marriage and that terrified me. If that was the case, well, Carol and Kelly are so much younger than me and prettier than me-" "I'm not sure I'd agree with that one hundred percent." "-flatterer... but I worried that they'd take him away from me. I know it's silly, I knew it at the time, but especially after the disaster of my first marriage, I carry a lot of insecurity around with me, all the time. With him in the hospital I've seen that no one of us is the lynchpin, paradoxically we all are. We're a unit and should something happen to one or more of us, I think the rest of us would go on together, but outside of something catastrophic, I can't see any of us leaving of our own free will. "But Sis, through the first parts of my relationship with Harry and Carol, I lived on top of a barely controlled volcano of insecurity and I didn't feel I could say anything about it because I imagined if I did, he and Carol would laugh at me and I wouldn't be worthy of their love anymore and they'd send me away. Even after the evening Angie showed up and I came back, there were nights I spent hours lying awake, shaking with fear that in the morning they'd roll over and one of them would say 'Why are you still here? Get out.' and all of a sudden I'd be alone again. "I still have a night like that, from time to time, but not nearly as often and I know now that if I need to, I can wake one of them and they'll be glad to talk me through it... and that knowledge alone is enough to help soothe out the really rough spots and make waking them up unnecessary." Nicki threw her leg up and over Margo's curvy hips. "Goddamn, that asshole really did a number on you, didn't he?" she said as she brushed a few wisps of hair from Margo's face. "Oh, not just Benjamin... my parents started the process long before... I'm sure that's part of how I ended up married to the late Dr. Sapperstein. But that's just the cards I got dealt and there's no changing them. How I play them, on the other hand, that can be changed, and that's what living with my new family is helping me do. "Nicki, please don't ever get the feeling that any of us 'have it together' or are 'whole'... we're all damaged in our own ways. Harry carries a lot of scarring from Angie, and even more damage from the night she came back... plus there are other wounds there that I've never seen, I've just watched the blood that flow from them, so to speak. Carol... I've lay in bed and watched the nightmares race across her face like clouds across the sky before a storm. Of us all, I think she's the one who hides her pain the best. Kelly is just now becoming comfortable enough with being a part of us to let Carol and I see the side of her that hurts and is uncertain. That's been the side she's shared with Harry pretty much from the beginning and has been the surest sign of the depth of their relationship." "Well Margo, seems to me we've strayed somewhat from the original question... why should you allow me to make love with your husband? "Because I love him very much and I want the chance to express that love completely, in a physical manner." Nicki's hand moved down and gently grasped a handful of Margo's ass. "Sorry to get distracted but God, I love your curves, woman! You, hell, all three of you, are just divinely shaped." "Well, get you out of that high-stress nightmare you've been living in, who knows? Maybe we can put some curves on you as well." "Umm, you think so? I've never been that comfortable with the whole 'you must be stick thin to be beautiful' concept." "Oh, I'm sure of it, especially if you let Karen and Patricia feed you somewhat regularly. My God, Patricia got that beautiful ass of hers the old-fashioned way... she earned it in the kitchen. "But back to the question... your answer is satisfying enough for me, Nicki. It's an answer we would accept from any lover of ours that was also interested in our husband, not that we plan on there being any more... you got in on a family pass, so to speak. I think this relationship's about as open as we can let it be." Margo smiled. "Not that any of us regret for an instant you ending up in our arms... we don't, not for an instant." "So," Nicki said, brushing her lips across Margo's nipple, "do we move on to the next question, or do we take a short break?" Oil of Roses Ch. 30 * * * * * Out of all of the children, although so many of them only qualified as 'children' by age, the most helpful Tattie had found was the one called 'Vashti'. They were sitting down together in the break room, her with a cup of tea, him with a coke, trying to ward off the exhaustion for just a little while longer so that they could get everyone seen to and settled in before Tattie left. She felt sure that within minutes of her leaving, Vashti would be face down, unconscious, on the bed he'd been assigned. "(So, what's the story of the little boy who doesn't talk, 'Yuri' I think you called him?" she asked. "(He was Dmitri's pet...a position he saved me from, for which I shall be eternally grateful.)" "(Why doesn't he talk?)" "(Did you see the scars on his throat, Tattie? Dmitri said he whined too much so he took him to the doctor and had his vocal cords removed. He will never speak again.)" "(Do you remember this doctor's name by any chance?)" "(Certainly, he was the only doctor we ever saw, a repulsive pig of a man named Albrecht.)" "(So what happened to you, Vashti, after you were no longer Dmitri's pet?)" "(I became his... personnel manager, I guess you'd say. Kept the children quiet, kept an eye on their health, saw to their training...)" The look of horror and shock on Tatiana's face registered on the teenager. "(Ms. Turov, before you go passing any judgment on me,)" he said, standing up, "(take into account my circumstances.)" The skinny boy dropped the cotton pants he was wearing and shucked off his shirt. Tatiana's gasp echoed through the break room as she took in the mass of crisscrossing scars covering all of his back, his buttocks, and the backs of his legs down almost to the ankles. "(This is what resisting Dmitri cost me and what Yuri saved me from more of... although how much more I really can't say.)" He pulled up his pants and turned, pulling his shirt back on. "(The bastard almost broke me and when he told me what I was to do or else I would suffer the whip again...if I did as he asked, I could help these children. And I did!)" He looked at her with fierce pride shining through his unnoticed tears. "(There are children here tonight who are alive because of what I taught them, how I helped them!)" He sat back down and pulled a pack of cigarettes out, and daring Tatiana to say anything about them pulled one out and lit it. "(Save your judgment and your pity for those who deserve the one and need the other, Ms. Turov.)" Tattie looked at him with a new understanding. "(No Vashti, you're right... I am sorry I offended you, I am sorry I misjudged you. I apologize.)" "(It is alright... I would judge me if I were in your shoes... it is easy to judge if you have never been a slave.)" He drew a lungful of smoke and held it a long time, eventually releasing it through his nostrils. "(God, these weak American cigarettes! Even after I tear the filters off it is like smoking air. That may be the only thing I will miss about Dmitri and his men... they always had plenty of good, strong Russian cigarettes. They would make these pathetically wimpy American smokers turn green and vomit their guts out.)" Tattie grinned at the boy. "(Remind me not to recommend you for a job in advertising, Vashti...back to Yuri; do you think anything can be done for him? He shies away from anyone who tries to get close, even you children.)" "(No... Dmitri almost broke me. He did break Yuri, broke him into a million pieces. He is not a person anymore; he is an animal, like a dog. I do not think there is anyone left in there to help. It would be kinder if these gangsters were to take him and shoot him. Either that or find someone who likes sex with little boys and doesn't mind one that is little better than a dog.)" "(Vashti, sometimes your sense of compassion just overwhelms me.)" "(Ms. Turov, compassion is a good thing so long as there is hope. For Yuri, there is no hope.)" "(Is that the opinion of Vashti, the world-renowned psychologist and medical doctor?)" The boy got up, crushing the hot coal of his cigarette on the tabletop with the ball of his thumb. "(No, Ms. Turov, that is the opinion of Vashti, who has been a slave, sucking men's dicks...and doing other things... to stay alive since he was four years old. In this matter, I would trust my opinion over a doctor's or psychologist's.)" * * * * * A few minutes later, Tattie was in Nick's room. "Nick, do you know of a doctor named Albrecht?" "Uh, yeah... lost his license, works out of a shabby little apartment on the south side. Why?" Tattie sat down in the chair by the bed. "Nick, I'm tired and I'm sick at heart... these children... God bless you for getting them out of there, but this Albrecht... at Dmitri's request he removed a boy's vocal cords because he 'whined too much'. I... I'd take it as a personal favor if..." "If he stopped breathing sometime soon?" Nick asked, his voice sad. "Yes... yes... but only after he's endured much pain." "Consider it done... and thank you for all your help, Aunt Tattie. I don't know how we would've gotten through this without you. Anything you need, anything you want, you just ask." "I will... now to go look in on the last few of my little darlin's and then I'm going to have one of your boy's drive me home... I'm afraid I'm a little too pooped to trust myself on the road." "Good night then." Tattie shuffled out of the room, weariness hanging on her body like chains. "When did she get so old?" came Paula's voice from the shadows. "She's not, normally... but with what she's been dealing with, I think maybe even you would show some age." "Not fuckin' likely, bro." * * * * * Margo and Nicki lay in each others arms, coated in a light sheen of sweat. "That was some short break," Margo exclaimed, a shiver running down her body as the air conditioning cooled her. "Damn straight," Nicki said. "Christ... I just did a 'Harry' impersonation again, didn't I?" "Yeah, yeah you did... down to tone of voice and cadence." "So, now do we move on to the second question?" "Ah yeah, the big one," Margo replied. "Incest, the hulking monster of a societal taboo... look, if the two of you were thinking of procreating, I might have some qualms. Although the chances aren't as high as some medical horror stories make them out, you would be running an increased risk of reinforcing any bad genetic traits you might have in your family line. But Harry's had a vasectomy-" "Since when?" "Since Angie-" "Scabrous slut." "Yes indeed, and so the offspring issue is not in question. Therefore, as far as I can see, you're two adults, well past the age of consent in your state of residence, who wish to engage in sexual relations with each other. The biological basis for the incest taboos not applying and the sociological reasons for them not applying, as you are adults and neither of you are coercing the other, so go forth and make love." "But you've raised the whole 'two consenting adults' issue... what if Harry can't handle the idea, or worse yet simply isn't interested?" "Let me tell you a story about what happened when he heard about you and Carol while Kelly was made to watch..." * * * * * "...so from that the 'hoodoo woman' gathers he is interested?" "Yeah, that's what it looks like. Now I have no doubt he'd never initiate it on his own, for a multitude of reasons, but he's interested if she says he is. "As to the issue of him handling the whole thing... well, you let the girls and me work on that." Nicki slid her arms around her sister's body. "Margo, why are you doing this? Why are all of you doing this? Are you planning to arrange for every woman who wants to make love with Harry to have their shot?" "No, silly woman, we're very damn selective about who makes love with our man! As I said, you're family, and as we've wasted very little time taking you as our lover, why should we keep you from being the lover of our fourth partner? That would just be wrong... criminally so, as tasty as you are, and as loveable in the non-sexual sense as well." * * * * * As there was no longer any threat, everyone moved out of the hotel and back to their respective homes. Margo, Carol and Kelly were back and forth to the hospital on a daily basis, but the commute was worth the chance to sleep in their own bed... even with the joys of the renovations going on in their house and yard. Nicki settled in and looked for a job, unfortunately without much luck, putting the majority of her possessions in storage when they arrived from Atlanta and making regular trips to the hospital as well. Eddy and Tamara went home and such was her faith in him, that they would find a home of their own, that she began packing up the apartment before they'd even fully unpacked from their stay at the hotel. Once back from their sojourn at the hotel, Karen found that Patricia packing for a move was not quite the Patricia she was used to. Quite often Patricia-packing-for-a-move wanted nothing more than a quick supper, several screaming orgasms and a soft bed. As Karen saw the rapid progress of the packing, she had no problems with that at all. Tattie moved back into her large, empty house... but she was planning on it not remaining empty for long. * * * * * "Nick, I want a favor," Tatiana Turov said, striding into his room as a woman on a mission. "Aunt Tattie, you know you have but to name it and it will be yours," Nick said, putting down his book. "I want Yuri and Vashti." Nick looked at her, his eyes trying to pierce her own and discern whether she had the slightest idea what she was asking for. "Right now or do you have time for me to have them gift-wrapped," he quipped, buying himself time to figure out a way to talk her out of it. "Niccolo Philouma, don't you get flippant with me! And don't be thinking, my dear boy," she said, softening, "that I don't know the handfuls of trouble I'm signing up for." "Aunt Tattie, think... how will you get work done, how will you run your business when you have these two to take care of? And they're both going to need a lot of your attention, or you might as well not take them." "I've been meaning to take on an apprentice for years, Nick... never did so because to me... to me I guess that would mean acknowledging I wasn't eternal... that I was going to end someday. "This last week here... has been hard, harder on me than I dreamed possible. And it brought home to me that I'm not eternal... I'm not just going to die someday, off in the future. I'm going to die much sooner than I'd like to think. It's time I stopped evadin' that, denyin' it, and started livin' like I don't have all the time in the world." She pulled a chair up and sat beside him. "An apprentice... will carry on my name... my work... my style. These two boys... Nick, they're each so broken. If I can help heal them... give them lives... then they'll both be the bigger and better part of my legacy... the children I never had... my family name going on..." Her composure broke completely. "Nick," she sobbed, "please give me this chance... you know me... you know I'll do whatever it takes... give me a chance at my legacy." "Tattie, it will happen," he said, stroking her hair as her head lay on the bed next to him. "You'll get your boys. Anything else you ever need, you know who to call." "Thank you," she cried, holding on to his arm with both hands. "Thank you so much." "Have you thought about getting help for raising them as well?" "Y-y-yes... there's a teacher Margo knows... she's barely making it on what we pay educators in this state. I think I can make her an offer she can't refuse." "Cute Tattie, real cute." * * * * * Harry was admiring the... interesting... floral arrangements he'd received from Antoinette and Mr. Antiquity. Both of them used the same alternative florist and the bouquets made of vinyl and leather, pvc, rubber, and chromed steel never failed to elicit comment from visitors. He thought back on the inherent sadness of Antoinette's card as she explained that she didn't go out much or she certainly would come by to give him some 'proper nursing'. He understood, intellectually at least, why she wouldn't go out in 'normal' society all that often. "Harry? You mind if I come in?" "Jessica? Of course not, it's good to see you! How are you doing?" "Better than you apparently... heard what happened. I've kinda been waiting until you were, you know, really out of the woods before I came to see you." Harry was looking at a person who seemed so different than the one he'd met at the Omni Hotel just a month or so earlier. She didn't come across as the overweight, insecure girl who'd nervously been fascinated by their antics at the hotel... she was a large young woman, more confident in her manner and bearing, poised and calm. Of course it probably helped that she was in a hospital, not the middle of an orgy. Much to Harry's surprise, she pulled a chair over and sat right by the bed, taking his hand in hers. "I have to admit Harry... I've been a bit of a coward. Waited until I was pretty sure Kelly wouldn't be in here every hour of the day." He smiled at her. "Still not easy, is it?" She smiled back, a sad smile. "No... no it isn't. How's she doing?" Harry looked hard at the young woman. "You really want the answer to that or do you want polite lies?" Jessica appeared lost in thought for a moment, then heaved a sigh and said, "The truth, Harry, always the truth." "She's okay... she misses you, we all do, but definitely not as much as she does," he smiled, "for understandable reasons. The girls decided to ask her to marry us." He waited with trepidation for the storm of pain he was sure would come. But although there was pain aplenty in Jessica's eyes for a moment, her face lit up in happiness. "I hope she wasn't stupid enough to say 'no'?" "No, she very happily agreed... of course, you know me, last one to realize that's what she wanted... I actually took her protestations at face value." "That's because you're a silly man, Harry. That Kelly was in love with all of you... a blind man could've seen it... anyone could see it, except you. Margo might have seen it... I'm still not sure if Carol saw all of it, but I know she knew about Kelly's feelings for you... and I'm pretty sure she knew how Kelly felt about her. "After Margo and my little talk, I got to thinking that probably the only thing that was between Kelly and the happiness of sinking completely into your family was me... and that I really needed to be someone's 'one and only'. That maybe someday, when I'm older and I've spent some time healing some wounds inside by being the most important person in someone's life... if I'm lucky I might find a group of people like you again... have a second chance at that kind of happiness. But for now I need to be selfish and egotistical." "It isn't being selfish or egotistical, sweetheart; it's just where you are and what you are right now. At least you're smart enough to have recognized where you're at and what you need... lots of people wander through life clueless. "So how are you doing otherwise?" "Oh, real good... Quan and I get along so well as roommates we decided to get a bigger place so there was a real couch in the living room instead of what used to be a couch but was really my bed. That lasted all of a week and a half... one of the girls we met at a club one night needed a place to stay, her parents had kicked her out. She works at a theater in the Parks, doesn't make a lot of money but pays her share of the rent and we get to see a lot of free movies. Well, anyway, Wendy, Quan and I are sitting around one weeknight, a couple of days ago, all of us off work, swiggin' down a big ol' bottle of cheap Sangria and watching "10 Things I Hate About You", and Wendy starts giving Quan a backrub, and then a little later Quan's giving Wendy a backrub, and then Wendy's giving me a backrub and I'm feeling something real odd in the crack of my ass while she's sitting on my hips." "Oh no, you're kidding, she's a..." "Oh yeah... seems 'Wendy' is really Wendell." She laughed. "She's not gay, well, 'she' is, but he's not... he just doesn't like facing the world as a guy... Quan knew it the first night we met her, she and Wendy both were shocked as hell I hadn't caught on. Hell, I just though she was a real skinny girl who always wore a bra!" Harry was holding his side in laughter. "So... uh... after you... uh... figured it out... did you do anything... with... uh... the telltale boner?" "No... not at first... seems Wendy finds me real attractive and had kind of elicited Quan's help in setting that evening up... she hadn't planned on her cock putting in an appearance, but evidently the binding process she uses had slipped in all the moving around and straddling of people and Wendy's erection had popped out and said 'howdy'." "Oh... oh my... so... 'not at first', you said... so... something later?" "We're working on it, we've had a few 'encounters', done some pretty heavy petting, I guess you'd call it... she was afraid, having heard some of my recent history, that I was a lesbian, or at least a strongly-leaning-that-way bisexual and was hoping that maybe if she kept appearing to be a girl I'd forget she wasn't one... not realizing that I didn't know she wasn't one to begin with! Oh, let me tell you, it was a comedy of errors that night... almost Shakespearean! She was crying, Quan was giggling at me, I was confused as hell... but anyway, things are working out. She's a sweet girl; we're looking at getting her a job with tech support at a local computer company... I mean, she's smart as they come, she just needs a work environ that doesn't mind certain... irregularities... about her and this place has a rep as being 'freak friendly'." "Sounds like a nice girl... after things calm down some more, please bring her and Quan by the house some time. I know everyone would love to meet them. So you're really doin' okay? You don't need anything?" Jessica looked at him and smiled. "Yeah Harry, I'm doing fine... I don't need anything and the only thing I want is something I can't have. But believe me; I'm so pleased that all of you are together. It'll just be a little while before I can stand to see Kelly that euphorically happy." After they chatted a bit longer Jessica gave him a careful hug and a kiss to pass on to everyone, left their new address and phone number and said her good-byes. She went to the parking garage and spent an hour sitting in her car crying. * * * * * When at last Margo deemed it safe for Nick to go home, his first impression upon entering his suite was that every balloon in the entire city had been bought and crammed into his rooms. Once his eyes refocused and he adapted to the riot of colors, he realized that it wasn't every balloon; apparently it was only every balloon that bore some version of the sentiment "Welcome Home". And as his eyes continued to make out order in the riotous chaos, he made out his beloved Randy, naked, with bright silver Mylar balloons tied to his cock and balls, sprawled across the sofa. "Get the message, Nick?" He laughed until it hurt, not a long stretch, then laughed some more as Randy led him to the bedroom, the two of them wading through the balloons as through a fog. "You rearranged the place." Oil of Roses Ch. 30 "You knew I would." "Looks good... what I can see of it," Nick said, "Would you be horribly offended if I didn't take you up on the implied offer just this moment?" "You mean these old things," Randy replied, caressing his balloon-adorned genitalia, "oh, no rush my love, they'll be around for a long time." "Thank God they will," Nick said, kissing his partner briefly before sinking down on the bed. "You want to lie down for awhile?" Randy asked. "I think so." "My gods-and-little-fishies, it must be serious- Nick Philouma is getting off his feet instead of rushing right back into business... I may faint!" "Don't faint... I'd really prefer a cuddle." "Fuck fainting!" Randy said, taking off the balloons and beginning to undress his lover. "Fainting I can do any old time... having you home again to cuddle... well, there's something that happens far too rarely." Thirty minutes later Randy was watching his partner sleep. He murmured to himself "Happens far too rarely... and something tells me it's going to happen more rarely still." * * * * * As they planned to go house-hunting the next day, Eddy and Tamara had gone to bed early after a massage that turned into love-making and a shower. Tamara had gotten very adept at feeling when her lover's dreams tripped over into nightmares and it saddened her to realize that her adeptness was the by-product of almost nightly practice. She climbed atop him, as she often did, and cleared his hair from his face, settling down listening to what he murmured in the throes of his dream, waiting to see if he would relax. Often the feeling of her lying on him helped to soothe his mind and he would calm down into normal dreams. After awhile it was evident it was not going to be one of those nights. She could hear in his voice and the occasional intelligible word all she needed to know. He was once again haunted by the failures in his life, a mind-set exacerbated by the recent attack on Harry. He could succeed ninety-nine times out of a hundred and it would still be the one failure his mind would focus on. Sliding off of him she raised the sheet on his left side and as predictably as the morning sunrise he rolled on to his back, taking the sheet with him to close off the draft. "So far so good," she thought to herself as she slid beneath the sheet. While waking Edward up normally was always an option, she'd had success with an alternative method. Climbing atop him and taking his cock into her mouth she began to suck on the end of it like it was a large nipple, her tongue caressing the underside as she slowly and very gently ran her nails up and down his sides. As his cock grew more erect she slid more of it down her throat, until at last he was fully erect and she had managed to take almost all of him in. Already her ministrations were having an effect on his sleep as the tone of his mumblings changed. Perhaps with some such a method would backfire and their nightmares could adapt and incorporate pleasure... not her Edward. For him, it seemed, there was nothing but pain, loss and fear in his darker dreams. If something was feeling good, he couldn't stay in the nightmare. She bobbed her head down on him, taking him in fully, the extra penetration causing her to gag slightly, which made more than enough saliva to make the rest of the blow job much easier. Like clockwork his hand came down to rest on her head, but her hands were already wrapped around the base of his cock, preventing him from driving her to her gag point again in his sleep as slowly he began to fuck her face. For Tamara it was if she was sucking off the Earth itself as it heaved and rumbled and breathed beneath her and no matter how much it might seem to someone else like an earthquake, to her it was as if the Earth was responding to her love, loving her in return. As Edward shifted and moved beneath her, she lay atop him completely, not touching the bed at all, the warmth of his body and the warmth of her own mixing, her nipples softly scratched by the hair on his legs. She knew at some point he was going to wake up and the thought of what would happen then had her cunt tingling and singing with a throbbing desire she'd never felt with any other man before this. As her lips moistened, she felt the faltering of his rhythm, the sure and certain sign of consciousness returning to him and then his hand drifted down, checking that hers were in place to prevent him gagging her. Her comfort assured, he continued to fuck her face, his other hand coming down to rest on the other side of her head, the two of them stroking her hair and her cheeks with the awesome and terrifying gentleness that so few would have conceived Edward being capable of. "You ready, little Theresa?" She nodded, never taking her mouth off of him and he sat up, reached down and wrapped his giant hands around her waist, lifting her up and then carefully setting her back down on his cock. He began to fuck her as he bent over and their lips met. After the kiss, his lips went to her ear and whispered "Let's make us a baby", as had become their tradition any time they made love. And as had become tradition, most gloriously so, her first orgasm hammered its way through her tiny body upon hearing those words. As she, with hitches and haltings, rode the climax out she asked "Sir, may I... may I get a little..." "Rough?" "Yes Edward." "Not a problem, little one." He lay back, secure in his ability to withstand anything she was likely to do to him in the throes of her passion as she wrapped her fingers in his chest hair and used that grip to power her violent grindings, back and forth, on his cock, alternated with fierce pounding, pelvic-bone jarring bounces. She buried her face in the hair on his belly, biting and sucking on the skin beneath, tears running down her face, moaning and screaming in a low voice as her feet scraped up and down his flanks, toenails scratching at his sides. Deep inside she reveled in her divine agony as she let out the aggression and anger which she could show nowhere else. Not anger for or aggression towards Edward, but toward so many of the men before him, men that she had served, some more willingly than others, but that had all treated her more poorly than even she felt she deserved. The agony of it all was that while letting these emotions out excited her, indeed, could take her to the very edge of truly mind-scrambling orgasms... they could take her no further. She could, and had, raged for an hour atop Edward, teetering on the brink of climax, unable to go beyond. That he was willing to indulge her in this, even to wearing a cock-ring for part of it to keep himself hard throughout the experience, was another entry on the long list of reasons he'd never understand that made him so special. Even in her own unique act of release, her own form of venting, she needed her master to give her permission to complete the act. After she had ridden him for an eternity that the bedside clock revealed to be a half hour or so, from his belly she whimpered, "May I?" "You may come, Theresa." As she lost control of her body he held her in his arms and slowly slid his cock in and out, enduring the spastic pulsings of her cunt, one hand brushing away the tears from her cheeks, until quietly, almost anti-climactically he joined her in orgasm, his powerful hips driving her shuddering form up and down effortlessly. After they lay still awhile, relaxing, he pulled her up to him and with a tender kiss, indulged in the next tradition. "Think we did it?" "Hope so, sir." "What's your feelin' on names tonight?" "Hmm," she responded, her smile of peace and contentment a contrast to the tear tracks on her cheeks, "tonight I'm thinking 'Edward Stephen Carl' for a boy, in honor of Carol, and 'Rachel Kelly Gabriella' for a girl, in honor of Kelly." "Why not 'Carol' for a girl as well?" "Because then you'd have two 'Carol's running around and it could get confusing..." "But now we'll have two Kelly's." "I'm thinking we'll call her 'Gabriella'... or 'Gabby'." "Uh uh, no daughter o' mine's gettin' called 'Gabby'. And what about Margo?" The conversation continued on long into the night. * * * * * Less than a week later, they were out to visit Rachel. "Why you got pictu'es unda you a'm, Tama'a? You b'ing me new pictu'es, Eddy?" Eddy Janak leaned down and kissed his sister's cheek as she lay in her bed, ready for her nap. "Yes, Rachel Ratbottom Schnicklefritz, Tamara brought new pictures because we have a new story to tell you." "Eddy," the woman in the bed said, patiently but smiling all the while, "the'e no 'atbottom or S'nicklef'itz in my name... but if you b'ingin' new pictu'es... it okay that you fo'got." "It is, is it?" he laughed. "Well, you cuddle up with Mister Toby and Chi-Chi and with the help of my lovely assistant, I'll tell you the new story." The woman in the bed sat up, arranging her pillows behind her, and then cuddled the little black velveteen dog and the crocheted monkey in her arms. "'Eady!" "You're not gonna lie down and get comfortable?" "No... new sto'y... somethin' specia'... wanna make su'e I stay awake!" As Tamara held up a picture of the city's skyline at night, Eddy said, "In a city not too far away-" Tamara held up a picture of herself and Eddy, "-there lived the luckiest man in the world and his beautiful girlfriend-" "Named Eddy an' Tama'a!" crowed Rachel. "-yes, named Eddy and Tamara. And one of the reasons he was the luckiest man in the world was because-" Tamara went to the next picture, a Photo-shopped image of Rachel transformed into an angel. "-He had the most beautiful angel in all of Heaven for a sister, an angel named Rachel Ratbottom Schnicklefritz Guggenheimer Patawotammie Janak." "Eddy," Rachel said, her face a mask of mock seriousness, "the angel's name was just 'Achel Janak... none o' those othe' names." "Well, maybe you're right, but who's tellin' this story, me or you?" "You ah... but you got to tell it 'ight!" "Alright, I'll try to do better. But the luckiest man in the world and his girlfriend were sad-" Tamara switched to a picture of the two of them in the middle of a great, overly dramatic crying fit. "Who make you sad, Eddy? You send 'em heah... I get Hectah an' Miss Janelle, they whup 'em!" Eddy grinned. "Well, they were sad because the place they lived-" The picture was changed to one of their apartment's living room. "-Was just too small to let them do something they really, really, really wanted to do. So they went looking for a new place to live-" The new picture showed Eddy and Tamara stalking down a street in pith helmets and khakis with butterfly nets and canteens. "-And they looked..." Another picture of them creeping through a row of hedges between two yards. "And they looked..." Then a picture of the two of them hanging upside down from tree limbs, magnifying glasses held to their eyes. Rachel's laughter ran around the walls of the room on tiny feet that rang like bells. "And finally they found someplace, very close to where some of their dearest friends live." The picture showed a house on a corner lot, large with a fenced in back yard and a ramp leading up to the front porch. "And it had lots of room inside..." The picture showed a huge living room and den combination. "A big kitchen where the two of them could cook lots of good things to eat..." The picture of the kitchen showed a central island with cabinets on two sides, the other two walls with windows onto the back yard and a set of French doors that led into a conservatory and breakfast room. "And it had five bedrooms..." A series of pictures followed, showing a large master bedroom, two good-sized bedrooms and two smaller bedrooms. "And it had a swimming pool and a little pool with hot water and jet nozzles to help ease tense muscles..." The new photo showed the pool and attached hot tub, shaded by maple trees. "But best of all, it was big enough to let the luckiest man in the world and his beautiful girlfriend do what they had wanted to do." The latest picture showed the two of them, jumping up in the air in glee. "What they need so much 'oom foah?" "They needed a lot of room so they could make doorways extra wide, and at least one bathroom extra big, kinda like they are here. And as proof that he was the luckiest man in the world, God smiled on him and his girlfriend and the people who built the house had already built it that way." As Tamara put down the pictures and went to sit beside Rachel on one side of the bed, Eddy went and sat beside her on the other. "What you doin'? Sto'y ovah?" the woman asked suspiciously. "No, angel, the story's not over," Tamara said. "The people who built the house had a son who'd been in an accident that left him somewhat like you... he needed a wheelchair because he couldn't move anything below his arms, and he needed an extra-large bathroom to make it easy for him to use and the doors had to be wide enough for him to get his chair through, with ramps so he could get in and out of the house." Rachel's eyes were full of tears, the excess spilling down her cheeks. "Poo' boy... nobody should be hu't like that... he okay now?" she asked hopefully. "No sweetie, he's still in his chair but he's doing well, he and his family just moved to another city," Tamara said. "But they sold us this house and it's already all set for you to come and visit us for the weekend once a month or so." "WHAT?" she screamed. "That's what we wanted a big house for," Eddy said, "so we could make it a place for you to come visit us... because we love you so much and we want to spend time with you." "But... but... Eddy... it okay with Miss Janelle?" Rachel asked, fearful tears in her voice. "Tamara's already talked to her about it and she thinks it's a wonderful idea." Rachel, still hugging her stuffed animals, looked back and forth at the two of them in confusion, trying to decide who to hug. Eventually she reached over and threw her arms around Tamara. "T'ank you, t'ank you so much," she cried. Tamara hugged her back, stroking the angel's hair. "You're so welcome, Rachel, we love you so much," she said, her own tears flowing down her cheeks. Eddy, manfully hiding his own urge to bawl like a baby, said, "Hey, don't I get no thanks?" Rachel let go of Tamara and turned to look at him, all seriousness and solemnity. "You din'dint get a'ound to t'is until she come along... you can wait you' tu'n." The three of them laughed together as Rachel went back to hugging her future sister. * * * * * "Alright Carol, now we've talked about how this will go," J. Noble Daggett said, taking a last look at the papers that had been prepared, petitioning for a name change. "The judge is basically going to ask you why you're changing your name, and ask if you're doing it to evade any outstanding warrants or legally-incurred debts, then provided you haven't gone crazy and given him some completely weird answers, he grants the name change, signs the papers, we go file them with the County Clerk, and it's done." "Yes sir, I remember." "Alright then, it's time, let's go do this. You nervous?" "Just a little, sir." "Don't be, nothing in the world easier than this." Twenty minutes later they walked out of the judge's office, on their way to the County Clerk's Office. The judge had no problem with her taking a middle name 'to honor her godfather' and only small reservations about the last name 'of a man she had loved dearly but lost'. Of course, both explanations were bullshit, but in the end it didn't matter. Carol Antonia Grimes walked out of the County Clerk's Office, tears of happiness wetting her cheeks. * * * * * Earl Culberson's first reaction had been to get in his car, drive down, grab his daughter, and bring her back immediately and to hell with what she thought she wanted. His wife Margaret, known to her friends as 'Kissie', had anticipated his reaction and hidden all the car keys. Her blindness had not hindered her at all. His second reaction was to book a flight, call a cab, fly down, grab his daughter and bring her back immediately and to hell with what she thought she wanted. Kissie had anticipated that reaction as well and secreted away all their credit cards. He was about to stomp out of the house in search of someone to borrow the money from, as the checkbooks had mysteriously vanished as well, when his wife said, "Earl, can we please sit down and talk about this?" "There isn't anything to talk about; the girl has clearly lost her mind. I'm going to go see about borrowing some money from Gene." Margaret Culberson had had enough. She leveled the big guns and fired off a broadside. "Earl Mason Culberson! If you walk out that door before we talk about this, you will be walking back in that door to a petition for divorce. Do I make myself clear?" Kissie was renowned among her friends, her few enemies, her associates and her students for never making threats. Kissie laid out consequences. And Earl knew it. Two nights of sleeping on the couch later, two days of the cold (and Kissie could make it very, very cold) shoulder later, Earl was ready to talk. Three days and many tears later, on both their parts, as well as after some incredible makeup sex, for people of any age, Earl Mason Culberson was ready to give his daughter's fiancées a fair hearing. * * * * * Their trip down to Texas from Ohio started out pleasantly enough, but with every mile passing beneath their plane's wings, Earl felt the tension growing and after thirty years of marriage, he couldn't hide it from his wife, no matter how hard he tried. Finally he was driven to break the silence or crawl out of his skin. "Honey, it's not that they're not nice people, I'm sure they are. We raised Kelly right and unless she's fallen under the spell of some cult leader..." "Don't you even think it, Earl." "...alright... or had her brains surgically removed, they're going to be nice people. Their being nice people isn't the problem." "Then is it a color problem, Earl?" she asked pleasantly, resigned to having the same discussion again and again, possibly until one of them passed away, hopefully many, many years in the future. "You know better than that... well... yes, it is, partly. But not that way... what did she say these people did again?" "Harry is co-owner of an advertising company, Margo is a doctor and Carol is a homemaker." "Alright, so it's not going to be another poor black trash and poor white trash marriage that'll end up on Jerry Springer someday. But it's never going to be easy for mixed couples, much less for mixed... what... 'fourples'? "And this man, Harry, setting himself up a harem, I just don't like that at all, one man, three wives. It's not Chri-" "No, but it is biblical and you know it. Besides, you know the honey don't all flow that way." "Yes I do, and that's another thing-" "Earl, you like women, don't you?" "Well, yes..." "Please accept that your daughter might find them likable for the very same reasons." * * * * * Their first night in town was reserved for a quiet dinner with just Kelly. It went about as well as could be expected. They barely avoided being thrown out of the hotel restaurant. Kelly stormed into the house. "Give me dope, give me booze and somebody please-" her voice began to break, "-for God's sake give me a hug!" In seconds she was in the arms of her wives, wrapped in a cocoon of love as they nestled in a pile of pillows. Oil of Roses Ch. 30 "I gather it didn't go well, my love?" Margo said, holding Kelly on her left. Her lover's sobs were all the answer she needed. "Are we still meeting for supper tomorrow evening?" Carol asked. Kelly's head bobbed up and down. Nicki wandered in from upstairs. "How'd it... oh, stupid question." "Yes, unfortunately it is... be a love and make Kelly one of those divine liqueur spritzers of yours, peach I think is her favorite?" Margo said. A nod. "Yes, peach... and then go grab the hookah, load the pipe and come on in... this is going to take awhile." * * * * * "Oh, I'm sure he'll be on his best behavior tomorrow night," Kelly said, much calmer than when she'd come in, "but he saw tonight as his chance to deprogram me while I was away from y'all. I thought Mother was going to start stabbing him with her fork." "You mean seriously stab him, say, in the arm?" Nicki asked. "No, I mean seriously stab him, say, in the chest, digging for his heart. She apologized several times for not having calmed him down as much as she'd promised to. One of the reasons I'm sure he'll be on his best behavior tomorrow night was Mother explaining to him exactly what would happen if he wasn't." "And that was?" Carol asked. "An unequivocal moratorium on sex until she felt he'd paid his penance...and a divorce should he go looking elsewhere." "I gather it's never a wise thing to cross a Culberson woman," Margo said with a smile. "And not too much brighter to cross a Culberson man," Kelly replied, "unless you happen to be a Culberson woman... Goddamn it... I wish Harry could be there tomorrow night." She missed the looks Margo and Carol gave each other. * * * * * After finding out that her parents were basic 'meat and taters' types, Margo called to reserve them a room at "Muldoon's", the steakhouse Nick had taken them to. She was rather taken aback by the level of service she received. "Yes ma'am, Dr. Wohler, a room is ready for you anytime you request it, compliments of the management." "That's very kind-" "Would you like us to prepare anything special in advance? I happen to know the chef has a lovely prime rib that we could start roasting in preparation for your arrival tomorrow. And might any of you or your guests be interested in lobster? If so, I assure you it is no trouble at all to put in an order for some to be delivered fresh tomorrow, just for your party." "Uh, I wasn't quite prepared for this warm a welcome... may I call you back in a few minutes with a more firm idea on what we and our guests might be interested in?" "Certainly madam, but I warn you it would need to be in the next hour and a half if we're to order lobster for you." "I'm sure it won't be more than fifteen or twenty minutes." "I look forward to speaking with you again, madam." As soon as she hung up, "Goddamn his charming Italian hide!" "What?" asked Kelly. "Nick has smoothed our way at Muldoon's... smoothed it so much that if I asked for the chef's mother, served on rice, I'm pretty sure we'd end up eatin' Mama!" Fifteen minutes later, almost to the second, she was back on the phone with the maitres d'restaurant of Muldoon's, giving their order for the next evening. * * * * * Kelly picked up her mother and father in Margo's car, while Margo and Carol went ahead to the restaurant. "Earl, you will behave tonight, or you will be a very lonely man." "Kissie, I already told you I will." "Well, you've told me you were going to apologize to our daughter and I haven't heard you do that yet." "Well... you have me there... Kelly, darling... I apologize for last night. I was out of line and I know it." "Daddy, it's alright," Kelly said from the front seat. "A daughter getting married is stressful no matter what. This arrangement must seem like I've gone out of my way to make it as stressful as I possibly can." "Well, now that you mention it- OW! I was just agreeing with her!" "And I was just voicing my opinion on the matter," Kissie said, regaining her composure after elbowing her husband in the ribs. After they arrived and introductions had been made, the table for six in the private room was unnaturally quiet as everyone sat, uncomfortable in the silence but unwilling to break it. Finally the beeping of Margo's cell phone provided some relief. "Excuse me, I'll step outside and take this." She was only gone a few moments and when she returned she was pushing their husband in a wheelchair. Out from under the cover of hospital bedsheets, his right leg was a Frankensteinian nightmare of pins sticking out through the skin and through open patches in the cast that ran from just below the hip to just above the ankle. The knee and the wounds on that knee from the surgeries were also exposed to the air. His right shoulder and arm were in casts and in too many places his flesh bore the signs of the knife wounds. But he was as clean as could be managed, the pajamas he wore where clothes were possible were fresh and pressed, and his hair was washed, cut and brushed into place. "Good evening all, sorry I'm late but tunneling out of the Stalag was a bit of a problem and it's so hard to find a cab that can handle me and the chair." "HARRY!" Kelly shrieked. She was out of her chair and hugging him before anyone knew she had moved at all. "Easy darling, easy..." he said. "This dinner is important to us all and I wanted... I needed to be here. I needed to be here for you." He looked up at the strong-featured black man who had stood when Kelly had leapt from the table. "You, sir, must be Mr. Culberson," he extended his left hand, "I'm very pleased to meet you, I'm Harry Grimes." Earl Culberson walked around the table and gingerly took Harry's left hand. "A pleasure," he said, releasing it and going back to his seat. "And you, madam, you could only be Mrs. Culberson. There's no doubt where Kelly got her beauty." "You are a flatterer, Mr. Grimes," she responded. "Call me Margaret, please." "Then you must call me Harry and ma'am, your eyes may not be able to see your beauty anymore, but mine are working quite well and I'm not flattering anyone, just speaking the truth." Margo wheeled him closer and he took Mrs. Culberson's hand. "It is indeed a pleasure to meet both of you, for many reasons." "Oh really Mr. Grimes... such as?" asked Mr. Culberson in a voice only slightly above a growl. "Kelly told us about you and your wife's attitude towards her education. I wish my parents had been half as wise. Not that they were without wisdom... but I essentially wasted four years getting a degree that is of absolutely no use to me. Don't get me wrong, it was great fun to get, I do enjoy modern literature, but there were so many other things I would have enjoyed looking into as well." "Margo, why didn't you tell me he was going to do something this stupid?" Kelly spluttered. "That's exactly the reason, dear," Carol answered. "Because you would have fussed and fought him every step of the way and both of us agreed he needed to be here." "So you're not above going around behind my daughter's back for what you perceive to be her own good?" Margaret asked. "No Mama, they not... although, to be fair, none of us have a problem going behind any of our backs if we agree it's for their own good." "I certainly can't judge you for that," Margaret replied, "it's how I've handled your father for thirty years." A small laugh erupted from everyone but Earl. "That's all fine and good, but what are all of your plans for Kelly's education now?" Mr. Culberson asked. "EARL! They're marrying her, not adopting her!" "No ma'am, he's perfectly within his rights to ask, and while we're not adopting her, families do look after their member's best interests," Margo said, picking up the ball. "Kelly's very intelligent, we're as aware of that as you are... often she's too smart for her own good. Between Harry and I alone, we make enough money, with all the side benefits such as health care coverage, that neither Carol nor Kelly would ever need to work. In Carol's case, she already has the full time job of keeping a household of five adults-" "Five?" Earl inquired. "-the fifth being Harry's sister Nicki, who is our roommate for the time being. As I was saying, she's very busy keeping a household of five adults running efficiently. With our divergent schedules and the many demands on our time during the week, she has her hands full. "Kelly... Kelly has gotten it into her head that she needs to be contributing to the household's funds now. We couldn't disagree more. The three of us mean to see that she continues her schooling in the same manner as before." Margo smiled. "She's a very stubborn woman, but we're all pretty stubborn too, so I think we'll win merely by strength of numbers." Kelly and her mother began to snicker while even Mr. Culberson smiled very slightly. The looks of confusion on the other three's faces had Kelly laughing outright. "Earl, go ahead and tell them," her mother commanded. "I was working as a correctional officer when Kelly was a baby. One of my fellow guards was ex-military and I was telling stories about what a handful she was when she was little when he told me of... I think it was a unit motto or slogan... that fit her perfectly. He found it on a baby's t-shirt for her, and until he died when she was thirteen, he always made sure she had a tee in her size that bore that motto." "I'm afraid to ask," Harry said, fascinated. "Outnumbered, always. Outmaneuvered, often. Outfought, never." Carol, Margo and Harry burst into laughter. "Oh sir..." Carol wheezed, "seems some things don't change." "I still have the last one I got from him, Daddy," Kelly said. "It's worn, but I retired it when he passed away, kept it with me." Earl Culberson felt his resistance to his daughter's 'marriage' to these people begin to relax, ever so slightly, as they all laughed together. The waiter came and took their drink orders, Harry calmly ordering a shot of Tullamore Dew despite the disapproving look of his wives. When the drink arrived he proceeded to sip it very gingerly throughout the rest of the evening. And when the question arose of how they all met and ended up together, Kelly was surprised to find that Harry, Carol and Margo's brief narrative flowed smoothly, complete as to the emotional realities, but very vague on the physical aspects, as well as leaving out any hint of any unusual sexual proclivities. By the conclusion their appetizers had arrived and Margaret said, "Kelly, help me to the restroom please." Once inside the otherwise empty facility, Kelly made use of one stall after guiding her mother to another. "I suspect there was quite a bit left out of that story for your father's and my benefit," her mother said, her voice softly echoing around and about the metal walls. "Oh God yes, Mama... the last thing I think any of us need to see is Daddy hearing some of the reality of the four of us and our situation." "In particular, I sensed more than a little whiff of... bullshit... about the first evening all of you met." "Mother!" Kelly exclaimed. "But yes, you're right, that was heavily edited for family viewing." "I thought so... I've watched, long ago, and listened to enough old romantic movies, both good and bad, not to recognize the 'go to soft lens focus, and then show shots of waves crashing into the rocky shore' trick... glad your father didn't notice it." "So am I." Outside at the table, the conversation was considerably different. "So Mr. Grimes... what would I find if I searched your house?" Mr. Culberson asked. Harry looked him squarely in the eye. "A good many things, sir, some of which would undoubtedly offend you... but the largest thing you'd find, in fact, there would be no avoiding it, would be an egregious violation of our Fourth Amendment judicially-inferred rights to privacy. What would I find if I searched your house?" The two men stared at each other, neither budging an inch. "I have by God had enough," Margo proclaimed. "Mr. Culberson, this is going to be short and sweet. We love your daughter, each and every one of us, every bit as much as any of us love each other. We're complete with her as a part of us, complete in a way we weren't before, and she's found her completion with us as well. My husband-to-be's first thought when regaining consciousness, earlier than he should have by the way, was to call his lawyer and then to wait, sans pain relief, until his lawyer could arrive so as to amend his will to include all of us, Kelly too. At that point, Mr. Culberson, the jury was still out on whether or not he was going to live, although the early ballots looked favorable... but he didn't know that. And regardless of what you might believe, had he died, the three of us would have continued as a family because that's what we are... a family. "I hate sounding like this, but I've had enough of you acting as if your approval is needed. Your daughter is above the age of consent, all too possessed of a will of her own and has made her decision. We'd love to have your blessing, freely given, but trust me, it's not required. "I'm so lucky to love and be loved by the three finest people I've ever met. I'd appreciate the hell out of it if you stopped treating them, treating all of us, like we're criminals or freaks." Earl Culberson sat back in his chair and looked at Margo, studying her. "Interesting definition of 'short and sweet', Dr. Wohler." Margo was still blushing when Kelly and her mother returned from the restroom. Once she had her mother resituated at the table, Kelly sat down and looked at Margo, then at her father. "So," she said, "I gather from your expressions that Daddy has talked himself out of sex for awhile." "Kelly! Margaret, did you..." "Yes Earl, I most certainly did tell her, and she no doubt told them. It's what husbands and wives do, Earl, they communicate. Surely you remember that?" "You might want to take it a little easy on him, Margaret," Carol said. "He's only trying to protect his child the way we'll try to protect ours someday." "Children?" Mr. Culberson blurted. "You're considering children? And all springing from your loins I suppose, Mr. Grimes." "SIX MONTHS, EARL!" Margaret announced. The waitstaff delivering their food turned a little pale. "What?" "Six months without sex... keep going, jackass, and make it nine." "Margaret!" "Daddy, your outnumbered, you're outmaneuvered and you're damn close to being outfought... you might want to watch it," Kelly snapped. He shut his mouth and stewed in his silence. "Actually, no Mr. Culberson... in fact, at present I have the slight issue of a vasectomy I'd have to have reversed. But that aside, I know that Margo would like to have a child by my oldest and dearest friend, a man who's been her friend nearly as long." "Carol told you about that?" Margo asked, calmly. "Yes, and believe me, I have no problem with it... she also told me she at some point wouldn't mind bearing the child of another family friend, a gay man. I suspect that insemination will occur artificially in that case. I imagine Margo's will be done the old-fashioned way, should Eddy's wife agree. I think she will. As for Kelly, well, it's not something we've had the time to discuss. "And I'm fine with all of that. Families originally evolved for the protection of children and the management of assets. I foresee us eventually having a houseful of children. And it doesn't matter who the father is, what will matter is who the 'Daddy' is... and that will be me, along with many very close 'uncles'." "Mr. Grimes," Margaret asked, her voice soft and soothing, "do any of the rest of you have any parents still living?" "Both Harry's and my parents are dead," Margo answered, "as far as Carol..." "Mine might as well be, as far as I'm concerned," Carol replied. The smile on Margaret's face was almost transcendental. "Earl, I think you'd better get used to the idea of grandchildren." "But they're not ours unless they're Kelly's and she hasn't even said-" "Whether they're of my body or not," Kelly replied, "they'll be mine" "And therefore ours," Margaret said, her smile never fading. "Get ready to be a grandfather, Earl." As the meal passed, mostly in silence except for the sounds of people enjoying superb food, Earl Culberson did some hard thinking. It was obvious that his wife was happy about the situation, or at least was not unhappy, and he knew the promise of grandchildren at some point in the future had her on the edge of euphoria. As the last roar of a dying lion, he threw out a final question. "As I realize only one of your marriages will be legally recognized, I don't imagine there will be pre-nuptial agreements for the four of you." "No, of course not-" Margo began. "Actually there will," Carol said, smiling. "Harry had me talk to Mr. Daggett about it while we were arranging the name change. I've discussed the name issue with Kelly, just not the financial arrangements." She turned to Mr. Culberson. "Sir, I've already had my last name changed to Grimes. I have no fondness at all for my family name. As I understand it, Margo will do the same when she becomes the bride of record, for much the same reason. While I should let Kelly tell you her decision about her name... well, I just can't... she'll be keeping your family name and taking ours as well, going by the last name of 'Culberson-Grimes'. You and your wife mean that much to her. "But while I was arranging to have my name changed, Harry had our lawyer draw up our... well, our contracts. The reason we didn't tell you, Margo, is you would've argued with me about what I've chosen to do. Each partner is assured one quarter of all assets no matter how they leave the partnership. That includes my assets as well, of course." "You don't have any assets from what I understood," Mr. Culberson said. "Actually you're quite incorrect, I have an inheritance of approximately two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Would you like to see it?" "SEE IT?" "Yes, at present it's still sitting in cash in a very secure room at the house. Nevertheless, that's the contractual arrangement we'll be entering into." "Earl, are Margo and Carol beautiful?" asked Margaret. He looked puzzled. "Yes, both of them are quite lovely, each in their own way. Why?" "May I touch the two of your faces, please?" Margo and Carol both sat for her as Kissie softly, delicately, examined their faces, primarily with her fingertips although not exclusively so as she also used her palms and the backs of her hands as well. Both of them felt the tenderness in her touch and realized that they'd been very lucky where theirs were concerned. "Earl, they are lovely. Accept that they're not after Kelly for her looks alone, and you know they're not after her for her money... each of the three of them is worth more than our estate is ever likely to be... admit that it must be love, sit down and shut the hell up. They love her, she loves them, it's marriage. It's what happens when people feel that way. They want to spend the rest of their lives together and we're going to let them do it. They're a family." His final resistance beaten down, Earl Culberson admitted defeat. "Will there be some sort of ceremony for the four of you?" "Oh yes sir, Mr. Culberson, we're planning a doozy," Harry said, grinning. "Call me Earl... and is there any chance you might deign to invite an old asshole and his wife, who is always right and should never let him forget it?" Carol got up and went to him, throwing her arms around him and hugging him, kissing his cheek. "Yes sir, Earl, the two of you were going to get an invitation no matter how this ended... we weren't going to give up hope, for Kelly's sake, that any burnt bridges could be rebuilt." Oil of Roses Ch. 30 "Earl, are you blushing?" Margaret asked. "Yes he is, Margaret," Margo answered, "but how could you tell?" "You mean you can't feel the heat from where you are? And by the way, since we're family now, call me 'Kissie'." * * * * * The rest of the evening passed delightfully as Earl and Kissie got to know their son-and-daughters. Finally Margo said, "I hate to do this, but I have to get our escaped patient on his way back." After a careful handshake from Earl and a surprisingly warm kiss on the cheek from Kissie, as well as hugs and kisses from his three wives, Harry was wheeled out to a waiting Handi-cab with everyone in attendance. "When you get back, tell Mike 'thank you' for me again," Margo said. "From all of us, my love," Harry answered, "but most especially from me." "Why?" "Tonight I dined on prime rib and lobster, perfectly prepared, a salad that was fresh and crisp, divinely seasoned with hand-made dressing of the finest ingredients, and a baked potato superb enough to make an Irishman weeps tears of joy. It will have to sustain me through the rest of my exile to the Gulag of Atrocious Cooking that is that hospital." As everyone laughed, Harry said, "I understand that you'll be dining tomorrow night with the rest of our extended family. I won't be able to be there... it was hard enough getting my doctor to let me out for tonight. I look forward to visiting with you both under more comfortable circumstances." "You won't be there tomorrow night?" Earl said. "Well then, since you can't be in attendance at what would seem to be a mini-engagement party, let me say this. Your engagement has our blessing, without reservations, as will your marriage when it occurs." "As will your children, no matter the parentage, when they arrive," added Kissie, her smile undiminished. As everyone's eyes misted over, and the women hugged Earl and Kissie, Harry looked at the man who had bent so far in accepting his daughter's situation. "Thank you so much Earl, not only for what it means to all of us which is more than you can imagine, but most importantly for what it means to your daughter." "Oh don't get too mushy, Harry," Kelly said, drying her eyes. "He's just giving us his blessing in hopes of getting laid sometime this century." Everyone broke up when Earl said, "You're not entirely incorrect, Kelly my dear." * * * * * After the Handi-cab had pulled away and everyone had returned inside for coffee and dessert, Margo waved over their invisible, but ever-ready, waiter. "We'll probably want the check in another twenty, thirty minutes." "I'm afraid I don't understand... the check?" "Yes, the check, the bill, the tab, the list detailing expected remuneration for goods and services rendered?" "Well, yes ma'am, not to put too fine a point on it, but I am familiar with the concept. I thought you understood. Tonight's repast is compliments of the management." "It is, is it? Please get me the manager." "Yes ma'am." A few moments later she was having no better luck with her. "I'm sorry Doctor Wohler, but my orders from higher up were very specific. Whenever you or any member of your family comes in, your charges are to be billed to the owner's account." "I'm going to kick his ass." "Well ma'am, you might have that privilege, I certainly don't. I simply do as I'm told. Now, is there anything else I can help you with to make your evening a pleasant one?" "Yes please... a round of B&B's and if you could find me some Aleve I'd be most grateful. I suddenly have a splitting headache, thanks to the owner's largesse." "Yes ma'am, he does have that effect upon people." "Am I allowed to know what my bill would have been so I can calculate an appropriate tip for the excellent service?" "No ma'am, he has a forty percent tip added in already on your charges." "I'm not going to kick his ass; I'm going to kill him." * * * * * "No Margo, this is really too much, you're going to at least let us pay our part of the ticket," Earl said, waving his wallet at her. "No Earl, I'm not but if it makes you feel any better, we're not picking up the check either." "Huh?" "One of the owners is a patient of mine... the ratfuck cocksucker- I'm very sorry... I apologize sincerely for my language... he's set it up so that we never pay here... I just found out... and I'm going to kill him." Kissie laughed. "Oh, never mind the language... I've been married to Earl for thirty years; I've heard worse... said worse myself from time to time. But that does bring up a question. When we were talking after dinner, I noticed that you and Harry don't speak like professionals when you're relaxed, you speak a very... slang-filled and almost stereotypically Texan dialect of English." "I blame my exposure to Harry, his partner Karen, and his best friend Eddy, both of whom you'll meet tomorrow evening. They're all very much 'fighting conformity' in their own ways and one of the common methods seems to be a refusal to speak proper English if not required to do so. Since this is the pack I run with, I've fallen prey to their bad habits." "Makes sense to me," Kissie said, smiling, "better to rebel with language than by expressing your nonconformity through unusual group marriages and... oh wait, you do that too." "Mother..." "She's teasing, Kelly, don't worry... yes Kissie, better through language. It would make for fewer tense evenings like earlier tonight." * * * * * "Kissie... I know I don't deserve it... but would you relent on the six months? I'm feeling... awfully lonely... right now... losing our little girl.... not so little anymore... and I'd like to curl up in your arms... and you know as well as I do where that would lead." Kissie sat in the bathtub of their hotel room, listening to her husband through the door. She heard his pain... she heard his loneliness... she knew how much he'd had to fight himself to accept Kelly's situation... she knew what he'd swallowed to ask her what he had... and to be truthful, she needed him as well. "Earl, bring me my phone... if the four of them agree I should let you off the hook, then you're off the hook." * * * * * Two hours later, after holding had turned to petting, and petting to loving, and loving to crying, and crying to holding, the two of them lay together, Kissie curled up in Earl's arms, head against his chest. "Earl?" "Yes my love?" "There's a school in town for physically challenged students, including the blind. We're leaving our resumes with them before we go back home." "What? Why?" "Earl, it isn't going to happen tomorrow, or next week, probably not even next year, but there will be babies and I damn well intend us to be close enough to be proper grandparents... best to start preparing now." "Yes dear." * * * * * The next night they were at Chez Bubba's in the room that looked like a converted mobile home. Kelly and Earl were both hoarse from describing the restaurant's oddities to Kissie and the evening had so far been an unqualified success. Kissie had loved the rest of the family from the start, although Karen had made Earl a little nervous at first. But after a couple of beers and a few stories, he felt right at home with them all. "...so here's Harry, not the world's most mechanically apt individual," Karen said, "trying to change the tire because that's what guys do, they change their tires when they go flat. It's 3:30 in the morning, we're tired as hell, still got another hundred or so miles of road to cover on our way back from our meeting in Bossier City and we've both got to be at the office by 8:30 for another meeting. "So me not being in any better shape than him, I'm groggy as all get-out, it's raining, we're both miserable... it's not registering that the shoulder we're parked on is on an incline... a rather steep incline... and we're parked facing up it... it was raining, but I'm not picking up what that could mean as far as traction. I'm just standing there, watching him try to keep enough of his head focused on the job to get it done without falling asleep right where he sat... and the car is slowly starting to slide back down the hill... but the jack isn't sliding with it." "Oh God, you're kidding me?" Margo said. "Nope... and there's Harry, head under the wheel well, working on the tire and I'm trying to find in my sleep-deprived brain the words to tell him what's going on and pretty much everything I say comes out gibberish and he keeps responding with 'we all right' so I grab onto the jack stand and I'm pulling back on it as hard as I can... and I ain't doing shit because my feet can't get any traction on the slick shoulder. The car is still creeping down the incline and about to fling the jack forward, come crashing down on Harry's little punkin' head so I put my feet on the foot of the jack, throwing my full weight backwards, using everything up to and including sheer force of will and stunning good looks to pull the damn car back up the hill and firmly onto the jack, still babbling incoherently at Harry, still getting 'we all right, we all right' back from him." "So... how'd you keep... Harry from breaking... his silly fool skull?" Earl gasped through his laughter. "Oh, as the jack was about to go, I pulled out my drill instructor voice, barked 'Grimes, get the fuck away from that tire!', hopped to one side and watched the jack shoot forward about twenty feet and the car crash down. Harry's sitting on the roadway about four feet from the tire, looking at me like I just came off a flying saucer and said 'Let me eat your sponge cake'. Says to me 'Why didn't you tell me the jack was slipping?' I thought I was going to tear off his nut sack and shoot me a game of marbles." * * * * * "...so there's Kelly, maybe ten months old, already toddling around and getting into everything. We were living in Lawrence, Kansas and it was a good neighborhood so everybody was watching out for everybody else and I start having neighbors knocking on the front door, returning my daughter to me," Kissie said. "And not just returning her, but returning her naked. So Earl and I searched the back yard from one end to the other, high and low, trying to find how in the world she was getting out. We already knew we couldn't keep clothes on her... and your silence tells me that might not have changed." Amidst the group's laughter, Eddy said, "Oh no ma'am, Kissie, that ain't changed at all. I sometimes look forward to goin' out to eat with the crew just to see Kelly when she IS wearin' clothes." "Well," Kissie replied with a laugh, "I had gathered that your family's dress code might be a bit casual," she touched her husband's face and felt his ease and good humor, "but as I was saying, we couldn't find any way out. One Saturday morning I'm in the kitchen, I look out, there's my baby, naked as a jaybird, playing in the sand, eating-" "Do not go there, Mama!" Kelly said. "-pillbugs by the handful, normal for her." She paused until the laughter died down. "And then when I looked back a few minutes later, she was gone. So I went out the back door, looked all over the yard, no sign of Kelly. I picked up the little tin pail she collected those pillbugs in, held it up and said 'Kelly, got some more pillbugs for you, baby!' and out through what we thought was a solid mass of bushes came Kelly, just a-crawling to beat the band, all covered in spider webs and dead leaves. I put her in her room, went back out, ignoring the screams of my pillbug-deprived child, looked behind the bushes and found out there was a loose board back there that let her in under the house. She'd been crawling under the house, leaving through an access door in front and wandering the neighborhood." "At ten months? Good lord girl, we're gonna have to put any children of yours behind locked doors," Carol said. "I'd watch 'em twenty-four-seven, even then," Earl commented. "Kelly never had an ounce of fear... and a lot of times, I used to swear she didn't have an ounce of common sense either." He reached over and stroked Kelly's hair. "But I think she's gotten over that 'common sense' deficiency." "She ate freakin' pillbugs?" Karen asked. "You mean the little rolly-polly's, doodlebugs, those things?" "Oh yeah," Kissie said. "By the bucket full... area around the house was kind of sandy and we had thousands of them, seemed like all the time. When I saw what she was doing, the first time, I got on her about it, took away her bucket, but she kept doing it again, no matter what I said, no matter how many spankings she got... what broke the camel's back for me was when I went out, took away her bucketful one day, went back into the kitchen and turned around just in time to see her calmly take out another bucketful she'd stashed under the stairs. At that point I figured if eating them hadn't hurt her yet, it wasn't going to and I knew when I was beat." "Mama, really, thank you from the bottom of my heart for telling that story," Kelly said, staring into her coffee, blushing. "That's okay Kelly; you want we should tell them some of the stories we have about you?" Eddy asked, grinning. "Don't you dare you misanthropic, evolutionary throwback! I will beat you within an inch of your life and feed you to the coyotes!" "What about Tamara?" Eddy asked innocently. "Oh, don't worry," Karen said, "one family or the other will take her in, we promise." * * * * * That night in bed, Earl stroked his wife's belly as he spooned with her from behind. "They're good people, aren't they?" he asked, his voice revealing it wasn't a question at all. "Yes they are, Earl, they certainly are. Our little girl is going to be just fine," Kissie replied, moving his stroking hand a little lower down her front. * * * * * Days later... "So he not only left you his collection of vinyl, and the quarter of a million and change... he left you his notes on a lifetime of live performances?" Nicki asked, paging through the sheaf of paper Carol had handed her. "Yeah... and the more I've looked through them, the more I've realized that not only did he see all the greats, he was a pretty decent writer as well. I don't know... Tony poured so much of his life into those pages, his real life, not his mob activities, but music, his obsession with it, the way it gave his life meaning." "Yeah Carol, but on the flip side, this is also the story of his days in the mob... where he was, who he was working for, what he was doing... I mean, he leaves out a lot of last names, sometimes uses just initials, but I'm not even that familiar with mob history and I can decipher some of this with no problem. "Carol, these notes... they're the story of the two sides of a man's soul... have you thought about having them published?" "Yeah... but Nicki, I don't have any idea how to even start... I just know that I can't see letting these molder somewhere, never see the light of day... he deserves better than that." "Carol... would you like some help? I mean, I'm a journalist, not an author, but I'm not without contacts and I'd be more than willing to do whatever I can." "Nicki... I'd appreciate it more than I can say." She threw her arms around her sister. "There's just one more piece we'd need to have fall into place..." * * * * * "Based on what you told me on the phone," Nick said, sitting at his desk with some discomfort, "I asked my father to be here today." As the old man was wheeled in, Carol nudged Nicki. "Our day may have just gotten a lot worse," she muttered. "Little Carol Grimes now, is it?" the old man said. "And you must be Harry's sister... it's a pleasure," he said, taking Nicki's hand and bringing it briefly to his lips. "I've got to tell you," he added as he was wheeled back to Nick's side, "your... partner... Margo, she's something else. Balls bigger than most of the men I've known. There's one thing I have to know though... before we go any further..." He sat for a moment, breathing. "Tell me about the look on her face when she opened that 'black banana'." The nervous tension Carol had been feeling was released and she busted out laughing. "Oh Vic... I thought she was going to come hunt you down and make you eat it... until, you know, those rocks did their hypnotic routine... on all three of us. Then she just called you everything but a white Protestant child of God." The old man laughed, every breath a strain on his system. "Well, even if she had called me that, she'd'a only been right about one o' the three." "And even though she probably never will, I want to thank you for her and for Kelly and me as well. We all look lovely in them." "Hard for you not to... necklace like that on any lovely lady... can't help but accentuate her charms, and charms the three of you got plenty of. "But enough feeding an old man's ego... I believe you had some business with Don Philouma." Both Nick and his father listened attentively as Carol laid out their plan, unable to hide her passion for bringing Tony Juliana's observations on and love of music to the world, unable to hide her love and respect for Tony either. And when her presentation was done, Nick looked to his father. "Father, Tony retired in the early nineties, didn't he?" "'92... May of '92." "So almost none of his observations would be about anyone still active, not with what he was doing, not with the way the Family has changed." "Nick... there's still the Code." "Omerta? Come on, Father, that's a leaky sieve of a boat these days. We have made men turning state's evidence, writing books for Christ's sake! Everybody in the whole goddamn world knows our business but they all only know it from the side of the law, doing their job by painting us as evil incarnate, or from traitors and rats, squealing anything to get them a better deal or sell more books. "Maybe this is our chance to just let some of our story speak for itself." "Your words are not without wisdom, Don Philouma. I know that if it were my decision, there would be no Family business mentioned in the book and if the ladies weren't prepared to hand over the notes to have those portions excised, we'd take them and they'd have nothing... possibly not even their lives. "But it isn't my decision... and it isn't my time." "What I propose is this," Nick said, templing his fingers together in front of his face, "you go back and put the right names in, wherever you can. If you need help, talk to me and we'll see what we can do. I get to look at the manuscript before anyone other than your family and evaluate it for potential damage to our Family interests, not just here, but anywhere. If I see such potential, the manuscript is abbreviated back to initials only in those sections... possibly to no names or initials at all in severe cases. When you publish it, after such scrutiny, I will make it known among our associates here and abroad that you do so with my blessing, and under my protection." "And w-what would you w-want in return, Don Philouma?" Nicki asked, realizing for the first time just how deep the bear pit she found herself in was. "That purely on the basis of a handshake deal between the three of us, ten percent of any royalties go into a fund aiding and promoting music education in the public schools of our city." "No," Carol said, flat and hard. "Not ten percent. Twenty-five percent." Nick looked across his desk at her, and then stood up, wincing slightly from the pain. He extended his hand across the desk towards them. "Fine, then we have a deal." Oil of Roses Ch. 30 "Yes we do," Carol agreed, shaking on it. "Uh huh," was all Nicki managed to get out as she shook the Don's hand. As they were leaving, Nick observed, "Interesting middle name you chose, Carol." "Yes... certainly is," echoed his father. She smiled at them. "I loved him... I still do." * * * * * "What the fuck happened to you there at the end," Carol asked as they drove away, "you were damn near monosyllabic?" Nicki looked at her and as Carol gazed back into her eyes she snapped. "Holy shit, it got real for you, didn't it?" Nicki nodded numbly. "I've been an investigative journalist for years, Carol... I've seen violence... but Victor was discussing erasing us like you or I would discuss washing our cars." "Yeah, I know." "And that doesn't bother you?" "Nicki, I was around them enough to realize that each and every one of us wakes up every morning with the reality that we're probably going to die that day. If we're still breathing when that day ends, then it's been a real good day, it's a gift beyond measure. Kiss someone, love someone, fuck like a ferret and go to sleep, safe in the knowledge that you've had a great day." "Interesting philosophy." "It does help deal with people like Victor Philouma." * * * * * Harry's physical therapy went into its intensely active stage and Harry's attitude towards slow and gradual improvement was that he didn't have time for that shit... he had a family to get back to and he wanted out of the hospital yesterday. Helen McReady, his physical therapist, found that the problem wasn't motivating him to start, or keeping him at it. The problem was getting him to stop before he hurt himself. "Mr. Grimes-" "I've asked you to call me Harry." "Alright, Harry, that's enough for today," she said as he continued his series of leg presses. "No Helen, it's not," he said, then continued the humming which never stopped, except while he was speaking, during his rehab. The tears mixed with the sweat on his face and his lips were pale, pressed together like the teeth of a vise grip. "Yes it damn well is," she said, locking the machine in place as he prepared for another push. "If you damage yourself you won't be going home quicker you'll just be staying longer. Do I come into your office and tell you how to do your job?" "No," he sighed. "Then stop telling me how to do mine. I went to school for this and everything." He smiled through the sweat and tears, humming away. "Harry, why do you hum whatever that song is whenever you're in therapy?" "'Whatever that song is'? Save me, I'm in the land o' the heathen," he gasped. "That song, young lady, is Franz Schubert's 'Ave Maria', one of the purest transcriptions of the voice of God anywhere in history." "Alright, but why the constant humming?" "Helps keep me calm... focused... takes my mind off how much I hurt, how tired I am. Takes me to a much happier place in my mind." "And that happier place would be?" He looked at his physical therapist; probably twenty-five, built on the same lines as Karen, black hair, pretty oval face with a pale complexion, definitely a woman and definitely a woman he didn't want angry with him. "Do you really want to know?" "Sure." "You asked for it... it was what my wife was humming the first time she gave me a blowjob." "Sounds like it would be a good tune for it... not to fast, lots of low tones, get some good vibrato going... so that's your happier place?" "Yep, sure is." "So that explains the erections." "Yep, sure does." She got him into his chair and began to wheel him back to his room. "So what about you, what do you hum?" he asked, his voice full of mischief. "Oh, generally, if giving a hummer, something by the Sisters of Mercy, slowed down a lot, or some Black Tape For A Blue Girl, Morphine... something by one of them." "You realize I have very little idea who you were just talking about." "That's fine, Harry, you do realize you aren't supposed to?" * * * * * Dr. Mike Lowry had never had a patient like Harry Grimes before, that much was certain. He'd watched Harry in physical therapy, struggling to rehabilitate his knee, heard about what he used to manage the pain and fatigue. Mike understood his motivation, if not exactly the relationships behind it. Harry had three beautiful women waiting for him... any one of which, to be truthful, would be motivation as strong, if he were Harry, as his own motivation would be to get home to his wife and children. And then there were incidents like the hand job that had resulted in the showdown between Margo and Nurse Ratch... Nurse Fletcher. And then there was what the private nurse, Adelaide Corken, had motioned him over to see as he passed Harry's room one day. Through a gap in the door held open, he noticed, by Adelaide's shoe The three women were dressed in the kind of nurses' outfits advertised in Fredericks of Hollywood's. They had lowered his bed down and made it totally flat. Kelly was bent over at the waist, resting on her arms, using her body as bridge over his cast-encased arm and shoulder, thankfully Harry's elbow was un-cast, while Carol did somewhat the same along his side below the hip so that their backs provided a place for Margo to rest the left side of her body while she made love to him. And from their positions, it was clear none of them were wearing anything but the costumes. His colleague Margo's breasts were hanging free, brushing across Harry's chest as she very carefully moved up and down on his cock, her lips locked in a kiss with his. "When the hell'd this start?" he asked Nurse Corken in a whisper. "Awhile back... I think we're close to the finale... and I think it'll be 'grand'," she replied. "They walked in, told me to watch the door for awhile and knowing what I know, I couldn't bear not watching." "Knowing what you know?" "Yes... Mr. Grimes... Harry and I... well, he's proud of his family and after some initial dancing around to see if I'd be judgmental or negative about their situation... well... we got to talking. I suppose my 'special situation' helped open him up even further, once we traded secrets, so to speak." Dr. Lowry looked at the cute, rather short, very full-figured and slightly overweight woman next to him. "So that came up, did it?" "Yes... and once he knew about Tom, Chris and I... well, we've had some wonderful conversations." "It is part of why I recommended you for this job... "Oh, I think we're about ready... yes, there he goes!" Mike watched as Harry rode out his orgasm, Margo getting off of him, sliding over to his left side and stroking his cock, allowing the other two to stand up and stretch. "Here it comes!" Adelaide murmured. "Here what comes? I thought it was over?" As his cock stopped spasming, Margo said, "Yes, I think this kept the patient occupied just long enough for the thermometer to take a reading." She lifted up his left leg and gently worked the vibrating plug out of his ass. "Nurse... Grimes... I don't... think I could stand... having you take... my temp that way... every day... I think I'd... go crazy..." "Not to worry, Patient Harry, your temperature is normal and I think you're going to be just fine. Wave at the nice people who've been watching, everyone. Why don't y'all come on in?" As Harry blushed to a shade of red Mike didn't think possible and Carol and Kelly waved while tucking themselves back in, he and Adelaide walked in. "Hello Mike, Nurse Corken," Margo said, buttoning the costume back over her breasts. "Hope you enjoyed the show... not sure when our next production is but I can put you on the newsletter list," she said, smiling to take the sting from her words. After a brief chat, Dr. Lowry and Nurse Corken left the lovers to clean up and change back into their street clothes. "Have you talked to Rochelle yet about my proposition, Mike?" Adelaide asked. "Not yet... she's still a little touchy on the subject. But I promise you dear, I'm not stalling... I will speak with her about it as soon as the proper moment presents itself." * * * * * "I'm not even out of the hospital yet and you want to plan these parties!" "Yes Harry, we do, and we're going to. If we want to have them before there's any real chance of inclement weather then it would be good to get the invitations out so people can put us on their schedules... not everyone lives the free and easy, unscheduled lives we do." * * * * * Howdy Neighbor! Due to some personal problems, I haven't been the good neighbor I ought to be for a long time. But now things are finally coming together so I and my fiancé Margo, and our roommates, Carol and Kelly and our newest roommate, my sister Nicki, would like to invite you over for a barbeque and pool party on the evening of Saturday, September 16th, 2006, from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM. We'll have hamburgers and hot dogs, chips and salad, plenty of sodas for the kids and beer for those that want it. Anything else you might want you'll probably need to bring yourself. Oh, and don't forget your swimsuits! I'm really looking forward to this chance to get in touch with all of you, some of you for the first time, as my fellow residents in this lovely neighborhood we live in. Please come and let me make amends for my un-neighborly attitude for the past nine months. We all look forward to seeing you there. R.S.V.P. at... * * * * * There had been a lot of talk in the neighborhood about the renovations to Harry's house. In particular the twelve-foot privacy fence had raised more than a few eyebrows and those few that had views into his backyard had fed the information on what was being done out through the grapevine. And while most of the unusual occurrences at the house had gone unnoticed by the neighborhood, there was one they couldn't ignore and that had raised the level of tension and fear quite a bit... the attack in the park. Neighborhoods like theirs, full of middle and upper middle class family and homes lived in a fragile bubble of illusion... far enough away from the 'bad parts of town' that they could pretend they were safe, but not so far away that they could ever forget they were there. There'd been talk of setting up a neighborhood watch in the wake of the attack, but no action had been taken. Word circulated that maybe this party would be just the opportunity they'd been waiting for to try to get such a project off the ground. The responses to the invitation up and down the neighboring blocks of Garwood, Harry's street and Hudgins to the east, Trousdale to the west, were very positive and the acceptances came in by phone and email in a stream. * * * * * My friends and co-workers... It's only when the Universe tests you then you find out just who your true friends are and how many people care about you. My recent stay in the hospital was such a test, although I'm pretty sure the staff was tested more than me. All of you were there for me and my family in a thousand different ways, all of them appreciated beyond our ability to express. At least allow us to try. Margo, Carol, Kelly, Nicki and I invite you to a barbeque and pool party on the evening of Saturday, September 23rd, 2006, from 4:00 PM to 11:00PM. Renowned Central Texas Barbeque Master Albertino 'Boots' Carsidona will be catering the party so bring your appetite for brisket, ribs, sausage, chicken and even fresh barbequed vegetables for those of you who are vegetarian. There'll be sodas and beer aplenty, salad, barbeque beans, potato salad and Boots' famous grill-baked beer bread as well to help sop it all up with. Anything more that you might want you'll need to bring yourself. Don't forget your swimsuits! Please allow all of us this opportunity to try to show you just how much we appreciate all your many kindnesses. We all look forward to seeing you there. R.S.V.P. at... * * * * * The mood in the office had lightened every day as Harry's release from the hospital and return to the office grew nearer. And then the employees had received their invitations to the barbeque. There was no doubt everyone and their families would be in attendance. The big question, quietly discussed and cogitated upon around the office was if the pool party was going to be in place of or in addition to the company picnic. Since the company's inception, the company picnic, instead of the boring trial that many such company functions were elsewhere, had been, in true G & P style, one of the highlights of the year, with 'door prizes' and bonuses and contests and games and most importantly of all, a real reiteration and reaffirmation of Harry and Karen's assertion that without their employees they were nothing, that their co-workers were the most important part of G&P. In the early years of the company, the prizes hadn't been much, and bonuses were as often as not to the tune of $20... sometimes less, but the books had always been open for any employee to see and from the very beginning, no one had failed to notice that until the company was truly in the black, Harry and Karen's paychecks were often pitifully low, while no employee's check ever bounced and no employee ever was asked to take less than their normal salary. And no matter how thin the year, the picnic was the time for the company to celebrate its successes, ignore its losses and look forward to a new year where, together, they would do better than they had the last. Finally the employees nominated Rhonda, the receptionist, to talk to Karen about it. "Boss?" "Yes Rhonda?" "Uh... we, I mean, the employees... well the rest of the staff... and me too... we were wondering... uh, is there still going to be... a company picnic this year... or is that sort of getting combined into the barbeque at Harry's house?" "Get everybody in the breakroom." A few minutes later, Karen addressed the staff. "Alright, knowing you little barbarians' love of the picnic, I should have seen this coming and dealt with it earlier. "The picnic will go on as planned, although we probably need to get firm and set a date for it, barring bad weather. I want a committee of four chosen by the end of the day to meet with me first thing in the morning, we'll start looking at sites and dates. "The barbeque is all Harry's thing, and I know he's looking forward to seeing all of us there." All of G&P's employees, as well as Anna Pessino and her family, had left messages by email and phone that they would attend within two days of the invitations being received. It was a clean sweep of the invitees. * * * * * To our friends and fellow social deviates, in the 'Community' and elsewhere, Please join us in celebration of Harry's release from the hospital, as well as the end of a long period of renovations to the house. Husband Harry, Wife Margo, Wife Carol, Wife Kelly and Sister/Roommate Nicki invite you to a clothing-very-optional pool party on the evening of Saturday, September 30th, 2006, from 7:00PM until we decide to send you all home, definitely sometime after 2:00AM. Catering will be by Suburban Submissives and we've selected a menu suited for widely divergent tastes, from carnivore to Vegan. There will be ample beverages of all types provided, as well as herb, but we would ask that our guests respect our wishes and leave anything more chemically potent at home. As this is being held in a residential neighborhood, the outside portion of the party will be kept relatively low-key as far as noise levels , and as parking might be an issue, as well as driving home in an intoxicated state, we urge you to take a taxi to and from the party. We have an account set up with Texas Cabs for that evening and the next morning so that your cab fare is taken care of. We love you all and want to see you safe. Just tell the cab driver that your fare is to be billed to 'Baby Girl', and don't forget to sign for an appropriate tip. Please come and share our happiness and our home with us. We look forward to seeing you there. R.S.V.P. at... * * * * * Madame Cornelius sat on her balcony, stroking a naked Li Kuan's hair and smiling as she read the invitation. This little soiree of the Grimes clan was going to piss off all the right people by virtue of the fact that no matter how much scorn they might heap upon the party, they weren't on the invitation list... and Madame Cornelius was relatively certain that the stories that would spread from the party would make them secretly wish they had been. She wouldn't miss it for the world, no matter what the guest list... she liked these people. But the ruckus it would cause did add spice. She had Hans send their acceptance, four in attendance. * * * * * Antoinette sat by a translucent toilet, watching the young man who sat upon it trying to hold in the contents of the large enema bag she had slowly filled him with. "Just a little longer, my sweet." "Thank you... Mistress Antoinette... it hurts." "I know it does, sugar, but you'll be so clean inside when we're through." "Why won't... you use a plug... to help me... hold it in?" "Because then you would be weak. This way you'll learn to hold it like a man... and release it on command." "And then... may I see your breasts... and relieve myself?" She looked the erection that was bending, painfully she imagined, against the interior rim of the commode and sighed. "Yes, then I'll let you purge your testicles as well." Clarice brought her an envelope. "It arrived with the daily mail, Antoinette." She opened it and read the invitation. While she wanted so badly to attend... to be seen by people who were... 'normal'... who wouldn't understand... she couldn't... she just couldn't. And then another slip of paper fell from the envelope to the floor. As she reached down to pick it up she almost absentmindedly said, "You may relax, Terry." To the sound of his voiding, she read the handwritten note. "Antoinette, I will be heartbroken if you don't attend. The rest of my family has so wanted to meet you; they will be destitute as well. Please say you'll come. Harry Grimes" She handed Clarice the invitation, blinking her eyes to eliminate any sign of tears. "Clarice, send them our grateful acceptance of their kind invitation. Am I right in remembering that Liz won't be back from her European tour until late October? Yes? Then tell them just the seven of us will be attending." * * * * * Mr. Antiquity lay back on his leather and horn couch, his spindly legs wrapped around the head of four hundred and thirty pounds of authentic Japanese sumo wrestler as Himura, his guest and sometimes lover, caressed Mr. Antiquity's balls with his tongue. "Himura, pardner, anyway you could stretch your visit out till the end o' September?" The large man's nodding combined with a grunt that sounded somewhat like a 'yes' to signal undeniable assent as his flesh goose-pimpled in waves across his naked body in the frigid air. "Good, got me an invitation in the mail this morning, invitation to a party I'd like you to come along to. Wladislaw! Come and get this here invite! You email 'em, tell 'em there'll be five of us a-comin'... and one of us is a big ol' boy." * * * * * Bizoumet soaked in a large claw-footed bathtub full of bubbles as she read her invitation. While it was scheduled for one of her work nights, she couldn't see a reason in the world to miss this party. She reached for her cell phone, first calling Pansy to tell him to find a replacement for the evening of the 30th of September, then to her stylists setting up appointments to have a full makeover done that day, and lastly to the phone number listed to accept the invitation. Oil of Roses Ch. 30 * * * * * Helen McReady read her invitation, along with the rest of the day's mail, as she was having a passage from 'The Hymn to Osiris' from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, done in the original hieroglyphs, added to the chaotic mass of imagery that was her back tattoo. She pulled her cell phone out of the bag on the floor below her and left a message accepting the invitation. * * * * * Hal Stallings was very much engaged while his wife Tori read him the invitation. She was squatting atop his face, his tongue buried as far as it could go up her cunt while she rested no small amount of her weight on him. "So Hal, do you like having my big, fat, juicy cunt damn near smothering you?" A muffled sound and his loving caress of her ass was all the affirmative response she needed. "Well, get used to it, lover. I'm thinking a reenactment of this little scene will probably happen at this party." The sound from beneath her great, round thighs sounded inquisitive. "Of course we're going. Wouldn't miss it for the world... I'll email our acceptance as soon as we're through here. I think we'll bring Helga as well. Remind me to call her and ask if she wants to bring her new boy-toy with her." She pulled on the chain that was attached by a d-ring to the series of rings that encased his cock and balls. "Now then, how does that feel?" she asked, watching the pre-cum glisten on the head of his dick as she gradually drew it towards her. The loving and excited caresses of her magnificent ass were all the answer she required. * * * * * Adelaide and her two husbands, Tom and Chris, were sitting at the kitchen table, each lost in their own morning rituals. Chris was continuing his never-ending quest to stay current on his sociology journals. Tom was staring off into space, writing game code in his mind. Adelaide was looking through the previous day's mail, prior to heading for bed. As she finished mopping up the last of her eggs with her toast she announced, "Clear your schedules for the evening of September 30th, boys, we're going to a party!" * * * * * Nick, We're planning a series of parties at the house to celebrate Harry's homecoming and the end of the renovations and it was only after we finished the guest lists that we realized one of the people we most wanted to thank and share our happiness with really wouldn't be able to attend any of them, for numerous reasons. So we're inviting you and Randy for supper and a relaxing evening in our home, in the bosom of our family, on Saturday, October 7, 2006, dinner to be served at 7:00PM, but we'd love to see the two of you (and the security squad), as early as you'd care to show up for the purposes of visiting. Bring your swimsuit or don't, we won't mind if you skinny-dip. Please say you'll come, Harry, Margo, Carol, Kelly & Nicki (and Tattie, Eddy, Tamara, Karen & Patricia) * * * * * "You mean they're people we can go socialize with as a couple? And you trust them with that information?" Randy Miers asked, incredulous. "Oh yes, I trust them with that information... would you like to go?" Nick replied, smiling. "Would I like to go?" Randy squealed, throwing himself into Nick's arms. "Love, anywhere I can go with you and not hide how I feel about you is somewhere I'd love to go!" "Fine, then I'll let them know we'll attend." * * * * * Kelly finished a reasonably thorough douching of her cunt and as close to one as she and the water pressure could manage of her ass, relaxing to let the bidet gently dry her with jets of warm air. When she was dry, she got up and stretched, lazily strolling over to the vanity and checking herself in the mirror. She applied a little more rouge to her nipples, carefully parted her pubic hair and applied a touch more rouge on her lips there as well, opened a small canister of solid perfume and touched herself with tiny dabs of it on the breasts, in the crook of the elbows, behind the ears on the neck, in the small of the back right above where her ass began, behind the knees. "My Queen, if you would release me, I would gladly help you with that," cried Nicki, who was called 'Whore'. Kelly sauntered into bedroom where the three of them... 'Whore', Margo who was called 'Bitch' and Carol who was referred to as 'Slut', lay bound on the bed, various implements attached to their bodies, all filled with vibrating butt plugs set on 'medium'. "Whore, if I wanted help," Kelly said, gently pulling on the chain that ran between the nipple clamps attached to Whore's swollen nipples, "I would have told one of you to help me. On your back." As the bound woman rolled onto her back, Kelly adjusted herself, spreading her ass cheeks wide. "Tongue me, Whore." As her plaything's tongue began to run around the rim of her asshole, she picked up a riding crop and used it to part the woman's legs. Gently she began to slap her cunt with the leather loop at the tip of the crop, popping the area around her clit, then moving back down to her lips. As Whore's tongue began to worm up inside her, pleasing her, she began to stroke the woman with the crop, finding her wet, spreading the wetness with the shaft of the crop up and down her slit, then returning to slapping the area with the tip. "Little Whore she likes the crop..." Kelly sang, "Little Whore likes me on top... "Little Whore wants this to stop?" Panicked sounds of denial came from Kelly's ass "Little Whore she loves the crop... "Little Whore loves me on top... "Little Whore makes my ass pop... "Little Whore..." Kelly reached down and pinched Nicki's clit, causing the woman to spasm into orgasm. "We need a mop!" As Nicki became lost in her own sensations, her rhythm in Kelly's ass became erratic. Kelly flipped the crop back down and slid it forwards and back. "Time for the Whore to remember... her... rhythm... or I'm going to be forced to whip... her... ass..." Kelly's victim, torn between her orgasm and the promise of pain managed to regain a measure of control over her tongue and was soon thrusting in something approaching a rhythm once again. "Bored now," Kelly said with a shrug, tugging on the nipple clamps as she swung off Nicki's face. She squirted a stream of water into the woman's mouth. "Clean up, Whore." Kelly moved over to Bitch, looking at her suffering slave with a face full of mock sympathy. "Bitch? Puddin'? How ya doin'? Is that nasty ol' double vibrator action makin' you twitchy?" Bitch looked up at her, eyes full of tears as she continued to ride on the ragged edge, her orgasm so close she could smell it, but unable to achieve it. "Oh, Bitch can't talk shit like she was doing before, can't talk period with that nasty ol' gag in her mouth? Lemme get that for you... now, you're gonna be polite, talk nice to your Queen, aren't you, Bitch?" "I-I-I'm sorry... m-my Queen... p-please..." "I don't know... you be real quiet and let me think." She pulled Whore over by her hair, helped considerably by Whore's legs, pushing her across the bed. She settled her cunt down on the woman's face. "Eat me, Whore." As Nicki went to licking her cunt with a will, Kelly looked thoughtful. "I suppose, for every command of mine you swear to obey, without question, no matter when or where we are when I give it... I would turn up the speed on one vibrator a quarter of a turn." "Y-y-you mean... even outside... of the house... even when you're... not in charge..." "That's exactly what I mean, Bitch... I think you can trust me not to get us arrested, not to have you doing anything with someone outside of the family... but the possibility of you having to tongue me to a screamer of a climax in the dressing room of a clothing store? Oh Bitch, that is SO possible... or undressing in the car while I drive us somewhere, riding naked for all the world to see... or us going back to the Bangkok Inn, using the Vimanmek Palace room for what it was offered for, you spending the meal eating out of my hand when you're not buried tongue deep in my slit? Oh, all of those are very possible." "I swear to obey w-without question one c-command of y-yours." "Umm, how very sweet... Whore, that's just the spot... where were we?" "MY QUEEN! I promised!" "Ah yes..." Kelly reached between her legs and turned up the speed of Margo's butt plug one quarter turn. "N-noooo..." Margo was squeezing her legs together, her ass cheeks flexing, her anal muscles trying their hardest to pull the plug all the way in. "I'm sorry, Bitch, didn't that bring relief?" "No, no, no... please..." "You know what I want..." "I swear... to obey without question... two commands of yours." Kelly reached and turned the speed of the vibrator in her cunt up one quarter turn. Margo's sobbing was the only response needed. "I'm sorry, Puddin'... did that not do it for you?" "N-n-n-n..." "I indulge you far too much," she said, spinning the speed of the anal plug up to full. Margo's scream of triumph and climax echoed through the house. As she pitched and shook uncontrollably on the bed, Kelly ground her cunt down on Nicki's face. "Unless you want a taste of what Bitch got, Whore, I'll be coming very soon now." The muffled 'Yes, my Queen' was exactly what she wanted to hear. Moments later, as she covered her slave's face in cum, she reflected that it was good to be the Queen. * * * * * When she had finished with her pleasure, and rolled the exhausted bodies of Whore and Bitch out of the way, she lay down next to Carol. "Ah Slut," she said, caressing her captive's face. "I bet you thought I'd forgotten about you... lying here on your belly... that round ass of yours up in the air... still glowing like a runway light from that thrashing I gave it." She stroked Carol's ass cheeks. "Oh, still hot... still tender too, I bet... would you like another thrashing?" Carol's eyes were filled with tears as she nodded. "You really like having your ass beaten, don't you?" Carol nodded again. "Maybe I should have named you 'Butt Slut'." Carol nodded and whispered "As you wish, my Queen." "Or maybe, instead of beating you," Kelly whispered, coming close to Carol and licking her face, "I should just assfuck you till you scream, hmm?" Carol's whimper came straight from her cunt by way of her mouth. "Well then, let's put these lazy cunts to work and get you hung up." In a short time, Carol hung suspended upside down, the weight of her legs helping to pull her ass cheeks apart, her head at the level of Kelly's pussy. "Oh my," Kelly said, "look at that... your gash all open and wet... smells heavenly... and that ass... now that we've got the plug out, I don't think I've ever seen an ass that wanted fucking more... but I'm just not sure I really want to give you the pleasure you crave." "My-Queen-I-swear-to-obey-without-question- one-command-of-yours-pleeeeeease!" "Alright," Kelly said as she jammed the large purple dildo, coated with lubricant, into Carol's ass, lowering her lips to the woman's cunt. "My Queen, I swear to obey without question one command of yours if you will let me fuck her ass," Nicki said. "Done." "My Queen," panted Margo, "I swear to obey without question three commands of yours if you will let me eat her cunt." "Done yet again." Kelly went to the side of the bed and settled herself upon the saddle of the Sybian, turned it on 'medium' and watched her slaves. Bitch was buried in Slut's cunt while Whore licked and bit at her reddened ass, the piston-like attack of her dildo never faltering. "And when you girls are finished, we'll all go out back for awhile." "Outside... in the daylight... naked?" Carol gasped. "Yes Slut, and if you're not very careful you'll be masturbating out in plain view on the diving board instead of sitting in the shade on the deck, licking on me." * * * * * "You are just fucking evil, woman," Margo commented later that evening as they sat in the kitchen enjoying a dinner of salad and fruit. "I didn't... go too far did I?" Kelly asked, unsure of herself. "Other than the fact that I'm not going to feel like sex for oh, at least a few more hours, I've got nothing but praise for you," Nicki said, smiling. "Same here," Margo added, "although it may be more than a few hours... maybe half a day... and I am really, really looking forward to you calling in those oaths we made." "Me too," Nicki said, "and the more outrageous the better." "Uh, Nicki... you haven't really known Kelly long enough to realize," Margo said, "that might not be the brightest thing to say to our little maniac." Nicki looked over to see Kelly smiling evilly and rubbing her hands together. "Anybody up to go see a Disney film? We could have all sorts of fun in the theater." "No Kelly, that's 'arrest' territory," Margo said, taking a deep drink from her wine glass. "Damn... well," Kelly said, turning to Carol, "haven't heard anything from you, my love." "You are magnificent, my Queen," Carol said with a smile. * * * * * "Today's the big day! I will be so happy to get you out of my hair, I think I'm going to go home tonight, grab the wife, strip us both naked and go play in the sprinklers on the front lawn." "Aw c'mon Mikey, I ain't been that bad a patient have I?" "In all seriousness, no, you haven't Harry, and you and your group have provided the staff and me with much... amusement... yeah, that's a safe way to put it. But if I don't make a big deal about getting you outta here, you might decide to stay and continue to enjoy our haute cuisine and I don't think your insurance company would take very kindly to that." "Oh yeah, the haute cuisine... I am gonna miss that... nausea three times a day." "And besides," Helen said, "it's not like none of us will ever see you again. I'll still have the pleasure three days a week for the next couple of months." "That's true," Harry said, grinning. "I never thought that pretty much the first regular use my new pool was going to get was for physical therapy. It could be worse, though," he continued, "I could not have the hot tub for relaxation afterwards." "Oh yeah," Dr. Lowry said, "your life just fuckin' blows, Harry... don't forget to invite Rochelle and me to your 'housewarming' party." Margo gave the doctor a hug. "Which one do you want an invite to, Mike," she whispered, "the family or the adult version?" "Since my kids have a pool of their own, I think Rochelle and I would like the adult version," he whispered in reply. "Remember the 'nurse' scene, Mike... you've been warned," she murmured before kissing him on the cheek and standing back. "Mike, thank you for everything. You've taken excellent care of him. I really do appreciate it. You'll have your invitation next week." "More than welcome; now get the hell outta here before the free mileage runs out on the wheelchair." As the orderly pushed him down the hall towards the exit, Harry looked up at his wife. "Where are the girls?" "Oh, they're at home preparing a little welcome home surprise... I'll fill you in on the way there." * * * * * The couple's night out on the town had ended early. His leg was bothering him and so, much to his chagrin, he'd had to beg off the dancing part of the evening's plans. When she'd asked what sounded good to him, he'd leered at her and said, "Going home and going to bed with you." There was little sign of life when they pulled into the drive, the house-sitter was probably ensconced in the den watching television or talking on the phone and if all was as it should be, their eighteen-year-old daughter was asleep. He went directly to the bedroom, leaving his wife to deal with the house-sitter. "I wish we could trust Precious alone by herself, but after that last party she threw..." He carefully pulled off his clothes, taking the brace off his knee before grabbing a robe. Outside he heard some sort of commotion and was heading towards the door when his wife came in, one hand curled in the house-sitter's hair, the other over her mouth as she drug the struggling girl into the room. "Honey, what the fuck?" "Guess who didn't listen when we told her what cabinet not to pry into? Found her in the den watching one of our video tapes... one of the special video tapes." "How'd she get in it? We have the only keys." "I think the little slut picked the fucking lock... but in the end it doesn't matter does it? WILL YOU STOP THIS STRUGGLING SHIT BEFORE I HAVE TO KNOCK YOU THE FUCK OUT?" "Honey, be careful, don't want to wake up Precious." "I know, but the little bitch is stronger than she looks. As I was saying, doesn't matter... I walked in and she had four fingers in her cunt and was half out of it. I guess that's why she didn't hear us drive up. I think she's high on something as well... but high or not... you know we can't let her tell anyone about the tapes... about what's on the tapes." "I know." The house-sitter's eyes were wide and terrified. It was dawning on her that the action she'd found so hot on the tapes was something these people were willing to kill her to keep secret. She began to shake her head, the muffled sounds of her protestations bouncing back from the palm of her captor's hand. "Wanna have a little fun with her before... well... you know?" she asked, staring down hungrily at the teenager's smooth curves and beautiful skin. "I know her pussy sure smelled good when I walked in on her." "Yeah," he said, looking at the long legs on display from underneath her skirt, "I think so... and maybe, just maybe. Look," he continued, bending slightly to look in their captive's eyes, "I don't remember your name right now and I don't wanna remember your name. The people we're probably going to end up selling you to? They won't give a shit if you have a name, and once you're theirs, you won't have any name other than the one they give you, probably something like 'Candy' or 'Bambi'... you don't need to worry about nothing in the next several hours except convincing me and the missus that there's absolutely no way in Hell you'll ever tell anyone what you saw on those tapes. And just a word of warning... even if you succeed in that beyond your wildest dreams, we'll probably still be selling your ass to some very unfriendly people, once we're through with it. Got it?" The terror that flowed from the wide, white eyes set against the beautiful chocolate skin was a palpable force, and the couple could taste it. "Oh, this one is going to be fun," she said as tightened her grip on her prey. "Baby, get me something to use as a gag and then help me tie her up so I can get undressed." A few minutes later their victim was bound and tied and lying in the middle of the bed, tears streaming from her eyes as the two people who had seemed so normal a few hours before stood by the bed and looked her over like customers at a meat market. "Where to start?" he said, eyeing the helpless girl hungrily. His wife looked down at his erection. "You need to keep that warm, and probably someplace still a little wet as well, so bare those tits of hers... I've been wanting to taste them since she came over this evening." With a few slices of a knife, their victim's skirt, top and bra were either off or out of the way. "No need to worry about clothes either, where you're going," he said as he toyed with the straps of her thong. "Now, you may have just shoved this out of the way," he continued as he sliced through it on either side, "but I don't even wanna fuck with it." He pulled the scrap of cloth out from under her, then checked her cunt with his fingers. Oil of Roses Ch. 31 Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. Thanks to Sensual Curves for her help in proofreading. Thanks to my wife for handling the editing duties on this chapter. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * Harry opened his eyes slowly, at peace with himself and the world. He was home. He was back in the arms of his family. He was where he belonged. He looked to his left and saw the beautiful and naked forms of Kelly, Carol and Margo still asleep, all entwined together. It was a sight to make anyone's heart burst with joy. "Mornin' bro," Nicki whispered from his right side where she was curled up next to him. "Morning... what are you doing awake?" "Oh, planning out my day's activities... moving out, stuff like that." "What?" he said, much louder than he'd meant to. "Quiet, you'll wake the sleeping beauties... yeah, got me an apartment and everything. Carol had Daggett draw up an employment contract for me and between you, me and the bedposts, she's a pretty generous boss. So I'm moving out." Harry rolled over to face her, marveling at the previous night's memories. "But why, God knows we've got plenty of room..." "Yes, yes you do... but I had a nice long talk with the three bodacious ones over there and they begrudgingly had to admit that I might be right in what I was thinking... the quickest way for me to wear out my welcome in y'all's bed was to continue to live here. "Harry, I love you, and I love them, but I'm not a part of this marriage and never will be... that's too kinky even for me, I think. The four of you are a unit, solid as a rock. I'm just a tasty piece of tail on the side for all of you and I'm blissfully happy with things that way... trust me. Ask Carol, your hoodoo woman; I'm not another Kelly, protesting too much, I'm someone looking for her own fairy tale now... and I believe I'm going to find it or make it for myself. "Carol and I will continue to work with each other, courtesy of the internet as well as me spending a lot of time over here during the week. You won't be able to keep me away from parties and family get-togethers... I just won't live here. You understand?" "Yeah, yeah I think I do," he said. "So, where you moving to?" "Oh, just down Trousdale, about eight blocks... still almost in the neighborhood. A guy has renovated an old house into four good-sized apartments. So later today with the help of manly men like Eddy... and Karen... as well as the three Graces over there and Patricia and Tamara, I'll be out of here and into there. "I am gonna miss that bathroom though..." "Well, come on sis, who wouldn't?" "Good point..." "And you're always welcome to come over and use it... just as long as I don't see you over here every time you need to go the john," he added, smiling. * * * * * The two of them made a bathroom visit and then lay in bed cuddling and talking softly until signs of life appeared in the pile of bodies next to them. Kelly cracked an eyelid open and muttered, "Harry... honey... if you're awake, why the fuck don't I smell coffee?" "Didn't want to wake anyone prematurely... the smell of coffee's been known to do that." "Good point... but I'm awake now... sorta... and if I don't have coffee soon... my love, things could get ugly." Chuckling to himself he got up and pulled on a robe. "Come on Nicki, help me get some coffee and food started for these poor dears... Kelly, can you wake up your wives... gently please." "Right... gently..." * * * * * Harry was not at all surprised to see Kelly being carried, kicking and screaming, into the kitchen by Margo and Carol... all three of them naked as the day they were born. "Nicki darling, be a dear and get the back door for us," Margo asked. "NICKI, IF YOU DO I'LL..." "You'll what, oh about-to-be-wet Princess?" Carol inquired, grinning evilly. "I'LL..." "You'll lose coffee privileges for the morning if that sentence goes much further," Harry replied calmly. "OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR ALREADY THEN!" A few moments later, after a scream and a splash, Margo and Carol came back in, dusting off their hands to signify a job well done. "Well, we're off to grab robes and then we'll be back," Margo said. "I hope that coffee's ready." "It is," Harry replied. "Tickled you?" "Ahyup," Carol said, "shoulda known better." "Harry!" came a call from outside. He went to the back door and looked out. "Yes?" "Would you be a love and fetch me a towel, please?" Kelly said, leaning her head on her arms as they rested on the edge of the pool, her beautiful form floating on the water behind. "Of course my darling, and there'll be a robe and coffee for you in the kitchen when you get in." "You are a god... as well as a traitorous scum... but I'll forgive you for that... for now." "You are too good to me, my love." "I know." Within another fifteen minutes everyone was seated at the table, digging into one of Harry's breakfasts and they were almost through the second pot of coffee. * * * * * The evening at Jessica and Quan's hadn't really ended as of the next morning, even though it'd been interrupted by a few naps. All three of them had decided to call in sick. "Oh yes, Jessica loves her little girl... oh... God... that's good," Jessica moaned as Wendy fucked her for the fourth or fifth time, no one was really sure anymore. Quan was curled up next to her, arms wrapped around her waist, mouth firmly attached to her breast. "Quan baby, are you sure you don't want to try her? She's very... energetic..." Quan shook her head, never breaking suction on Jess' breast. Her needs had been met earlier in the evening both orally and with the help of a strap-on that Jess had driven into her like she was trying to split her in half. "Well then, little girl, I guess I'm just going to keep you all to myself," Jessica said, pulling Wendy down to kiss her. After the kiss ended, Jess looked down and caressed Quan's face. "Sweetie, are you sober enough to make a run to the Walgreens? I think this is the last condom in the house and I know I'm gonna need another before too much longer." "Uh... yeah... I can walk it... I guess I better pick up the economy pack, huh?" "It would probably be a good idea." She nuzzled her lover's ear. "And when you get back, I'm thinking it's time to take the little girl's virginity." "You mean..." "Oh yeah..." * * * * * Breakfast finished and the plans for the closet renovations inspected and approved, Harry wrapped himself in a towel and slowly walked out to the pool. Shucking the towel scant millimeters before it would have gotten wet his nude body slipped into the pool and he began to swim laps. As he did so, he thought about the physical therapy on his leg that was yet to come. He thought about what Dr. Lowry, Helen McReady and he had discussed... what he had asked Mike not to tell anyone else. * * * * * When Quan stumbled back in from the drug store, Jessica was in the shower and Wendy was stretched out asleep on the bed. Quan put down the large box of condoms and grabbed the bottle of Jack before making her way to the bathroom. "Keep your ass in that shower, bitch, I'll be joinin' you in a minute," she said, pulling off her clothes. "Not a problem... feels good in here." "Me and Mr. Daniels about to make it feel a whole lot better." After the two naked women shared several mouthfuls of liquor, Quan began soaping her lover's back. "So, what's up?" "What do you mean?" "Bitch, don't treat me like I'm some mental defective... everything's slow and there's a whole lot of 'maybes' between you and Wendy... whole lot of 'probably nots' between you and me... then all of a sudden you're more than willing to play Queen Bee in our little hive. Not that I'm complaining," she leaned over, kissing Jessica's neck while massaging her breasts, "but even tired, drunk, well-fucked and still horny, I'm not blind." "Quan... I... I guess I realized that... there I was, two people, beautiful people, people I find attractive, wanting me... and I was all wrapped up in what I didn't have... and I get this invitation from Harry and the others to a party... "For fuck's sake, they're happy, Quan! Not that they shouldn't be but... it really pissed me off. And for awhile I didn't know why, and then it hit me. I was mad because they were going on with their lives... and I couldn't believe I was being that stupid and petty. Why was I sitting there being less than happy, trying to hold on to something that wasn't mine anymore, when the two of you were right here? I figure the chances of the three of us, or either you and I or Wendy and I, working out long term are pretty low... but hell, the four of them are fighting tougher odds and they're still in there swinging and they're really happy. Maybe we can be happy too..." "You mean... this isn't just a 'fuck' thing... you'd like to try something serious?" Quan asked, her voice trembling ever so slightly. "Baby, why not? I wanted to be somebody's 'one and only'... now I'm two peoples' 'one and only'... a lot of folks would agree I should stop my whining and realize how lucky I am." "Let's get outta this shower, Jess, and you come on to bed with me... taking Wendy's ass can wait till she wakes up on her own. I want some time being held." "You got it, lover." * * * * * "Bevy, property management says we're two months behind on our rent. Time to deal with the mail. Best two out of three, loser has to handle it!" Perry said, coming in from the parking lot. The two of them settled down on the couch with video game controllers in hand and a short time later, Perry was lugging the garbage can where they dumped their mail over to his chair. "I shoulda known better'n to let you choose the game," he muttered to a silent and serene Bevy. "Well, least you can do is get that work done on the webcomic you been putting off!" Bevy nodded and went to the computer while Perry started wading through several months' worth of mail. "If the damn apartment complex could do automatic payments outta the account, wouldn't have to worry about this shit... never see the utilities not getting' their money... ever'body that can get paid online never misses their money... all of 'em get paid right promptly... goddamn apartment complex still livin' in the stone age..." Envelopes were ripped open and while ninety per cent of the accumulated mail ended up in another garbage can, one that was being used for its original purpose, there was the remaining ten per cent. "Bevy! Your sister had her baby... you got a niece... they named her Bobbie Sue Ellen... letter from my grandma ... says she looked at an ep of 'Dinosaur Ho' on my cousin Clyde's computer... says we're goin' to Hell, but she still loves us... got a couple o' checks here from them oil shares your daddy left ya, put them in the 'take to the bank' pile... got another batch o' solicitations from that televangelist you're fuckin' with, let you handle them... my brother writes, says the chow at Huntsville ain't bad, asks if I can put a little more in his account every month, one o' the guys in his cellblock is shakin' him down fer cigarettes... I figger I will, it's better'n listenin' to him whine about bein' somebody's bitch... again... "Hey Bevy... we got us an invite to a party for freaks and weirdoes at Harry's place, last Saturday in September. I'm in if'n you are..." Bevy's enthusiastic nods had Perry on his computer, sending their acceptance in no time at all. * * * * * Jessica and Quan laid in bed together, the sleeping Wendy by their side. "So you think Wendy's pretty serious about you?" Quan asked, her mouth taking a break from nuzzling Jessica's neck. "I got that impression from the way she was talking," Jessica replied. "I mean, she's already refusing to consider seeing anyone else... I don't expect that to change now that we've become lovers." "It won't," Wendy replied sleepily. "Why are you wondering, Quan sweetie?" "Well, I was just thinking... if we're all really serious about this, then we probably want to think about moving my mattress in here with yours so we can all have enough space to sleep." Two sets of excited squeals let Quan know the idea met with her roommates' approval. * * * * * By the end of the afternoon, it was done. All of her stuff was out of the house; all that she wanted out of storage was in the apartment as well. Her living room was full of friends and family, tired, from the moving or in her brother's case supervising, eating pizza and relaxing. And Nicki Grimes was in her bathroom, sitting on the toilet, crying. There was a knock on the door. "Anybody in there?" Tamara asked softly. "Uh... yeah, yeah... lemme... gimme a few minutes..." "Nicki, are you okay?" "Yeah... no... no, I'm not." "Can I come in?" "I guess." Tamara closed the door behind her and moved past Nicki to sit on the edge of the tub. "So, what's not good right now?" "I... I guess... it's all well and good," Nicki finally stammered out, "to be brave and talk about writing your own fairy tale and making your own life... all that. It's another thing when it's time to actually start doing it. Tonight's going to be the first night since all this went down that I'm gonna be left with just myself... well, me and all the fears and doubts... you know, the insecurities sleep-over I'm evidently having." "Nicki, you know if you're not ready for this yet, Harry and the family won't raise an eyebrow if you move back in, even if you do it right now, this instant. There'd be some bitching and I'm pretty sure you'd be owing people backrubs and such for quite awhile, but nobody would think less of you. We'd have your stuff packed up and back to the house before you could say... well, something that it'd take awhile to say, but you get the picture. You've made some big changes in your life and it seems to me what you're feeling is perfectly normal." "I couldn't... I mean, I could, but I can't... I can't let myself." "Well, would you trust me to go talk to Carol, see what she thinks?" "Yeah... I feel like a fourteen-year-old, but yeah... go see what the hoodoo woman has to say. I'm gonna try to get my shit together and then come out and be sociable." "Okay... Nicki, the most important thing for you to remember, now and always, is that you're among friends... and that means you never have to sit in the bathroom, crying alone, when you're sad." "Has anyone told you you're priceless today?" Nicki said, giving the tiny woman a hug. "My master assured me of it not more than an hour ago, but the opinions of others are always welcome," Tamara said, hugging her back. * * * * * "Now, I've got you loosened up," Jessica said, sliding three fingers in and out of her lover's butt, lubricant dripping from her hand and pooling around Wendy's ass, "but there's still probably going to be some pain. Are you ready for this?" "I'm... ready," Wendy said, although the quaver in her voice gave the lie to her words. She lay across a pile of pillows with her already erect prick bent back towards her feet. "Now sweetie, try to let me know when you're going to come... if you give me enough time, I'll pull out and wrap my lips around that pretty cock of yours... this is going to be a load I don't want wasted, not a drop, okay?" "Okay... I'll try." In the corner of the bed, Quan sat against the wall, a large vibrator buried deep in her cunt. Her eyes were half-closed as she watched her lover prepare to take her roommate's virginity. "Now Wendy, as someone who has had both, this isn't exactly like when you slide that pretty cock of yours in and out of my cunt," Jessica said as she caressed her lover's back in long, smooth strokes, "but it's somewhat similar, and as close as you and I can manage... unless you ever decide you want a sex change." "Umm... no...," Wendy replied, reveling in the feel of her lover's skin upon hers, "I enjoy my prick way too much to get rid of it... feels too good sliding in and out of you." "Fine with me, darling... I'm not wanting you to lose it... I've grown to love it." She pulled her fingers out and cleaned them on the damp towel she'd brought in. "Now then, relax," she said as she brought the tip of her strap-on to Wendy's ass. "Don't be thinking of this as an invasion, don't clamp down on it like it's something you want to expel... relax around it, accept it... know that I love you." And she pushed the head into her lover. Slowly, pausing from time to time, she inched the shaft into Wendy's bowels, whispering to her the entire time. "That's my beautiful girl... oh, you're doing so well... mmm, such soft skin you have, my love... just relax, the pain passes, trust me... yes, isn't that better?" And finally Wendy replied, "Mmm, yes... you're right... that's... very nice... oh... oh... slowly... please... oooooh... have you ever... tried this... Quan?" "No... but I'm watching your face... put me on the sign-up sheet..." the dark-haired beauty replied as she quivered on the edge of an orgasm. "Oh Wendy baby... I wish you could see the view from back here... this big black shaft, glistening wet, sliding in and out of your beautiful butt... damn... I may not be swallowing that load... I may have to slap a rubber on you..." Wendy squirmed in pleasure on the bed beneath her large lover. "Oh baby... break my heart... make me bury myself... in that hot, wet, plump pussy of yours." "You mind if I went face down in Quan while you did?" "Not at all... I'll just wrap my hands... around that beautiful ass of yours... and think about the day... you let me do you... like this... oh God... we better stop talking... or you'd best get that rubber ready..." "How fast do you think you can recover?" "With you? Pretty... fast..." Jessica pulled the strap-on out of Wendy's ass and slid down, kissing an ass cheek on the way and wrapped her lips around her lover's cock. Her tongue had barely brushed across the bottom before she felt the spasming begin in Wendy's balls as they bounced against her cheek. She opened her throat, relaxing it as Wendy's prick swelled and began to convulse, pumping out a load that subjectively seemed to go on forever. As Wendy trembled above her, balls jerking up and down, Jessica pulled her back off the pillow, pivoting beneath her so that she wasn't sucking her lover sideways. Wendy tried to hold herself up but her knees were weakening and she slowly sank lower and lower, her cock deflating in the aftermath of her climax, Jessica gently and tentatively sucking on it like it was a pacifier. Periodically an after-shock shuddered through Wendy's body and Jessica smiled around the half-limp dick in her mouth. Oil of Roses Ch. 31 "My... God... Jess... I feel so... empty... front and back..." Jessica released Wendy's prick and brought her lover down to lie next to her. She smiled at the young woman evilly, then kissed her, swirling the remnants of Wendy's own cum in with her kiss. She felt Wendy stiffen, then relax as she accepted the natural end of the act, tasting herself and her lover together. The two of them lay together peacefully until Quan finished her own lonely, orgasm and crawled over to settle in on the other side of Jessica. "Bitch," she said as she unstrapped the harness from her lover's plump thighs and waist, "you better hope Wendy darling there recovers damn fast or you'd better not plan on waiting for her before you start on me." Quan's dark skin lay in sharp contrast to Jessica's pale color as Quan draped herself over her lover. She nuzzled Jess' ear and whispered, "You know, you're going to be one busy woman, taking care of the needs of two lovers... I hope you're up to it." A soft snore, almost lady-like, issued from Wendy. "Well," Jessica replied, "I'm in luck that one of you is more male than she wants to admit. Head for the bathroom, I'll join you in a minute." * * * * * Galena Pessino was a good girl, everyone in her family told her so. She was projected to graduate with honors, took every AP course the high school offered, worked hard helping her mother clean at Ms. Karen's and Mr. Harry's on those rare occasions she needed help... she was a good girl. And she was desperately tired of hearing everyone tell her so. She was even more tired of hearing how smart she was, how talented, how lucky to have a family that supported her ambition to go to college. What she really wanted were the normal things a eighteen-year old girl wanted... a boyfriend, some measure of popularity, the occasional outrageous night that she could write in her blog about. It wasn't that she wasn't pretty, she was... in a quiet way that was even further muffled by the clothes her mother bought for her... the most frumpish, unappealing, form-hiding possible... and the glasses she'd worn since she was seven. Her mother never let her change the style of her glasses too much... variations on black plastic frames guaranteed to scare away any guy who might be even remotely interested in her. "You don't need to be worrying about boys, boys will come whether you worry about them or not. You need to worry about your grades." Her mother couldn't understand that even in the AP courses, she didn't really have to worry... or work all that hard. She spent the mandatory study hours her mother dictated pursuing her own interests on the Web, writing boring entries into her LiveJournal that almost no one ever read, and occasionally visiting chat rooms devoted to her academic subjects. She'd visited a few social chat rooms, but she'd felt as out of place there as she felt in any social situation. She'd thought about getting a page on MySpace, but figured why should she enter a whole new arena where she could be ignored? An unexpected blessing for Galena from her mother getting fired by Ms. Angie was that it led to her mother agreeing that Galena could take care of Mr. Harry's pool. Galena's mother knew nothing about swimming pools or the maintenance thereof. And since Galena was the 'pool-girl', she had an immense amount of freedom to spend necessary, and unnecessary, time at the Grimes house. Carol and she had become fast friends even though a lot of things about Carol's lifestyle had shocked Galena at first. Carol's tendency to cover her nakedness with only a t-shirt when Galena was over and her sexual predilections, which had come out in a girl-talk conversation that would have had her mother dragging her to church by her hair for confession, had been among them. Despite them all, she had realized that Carol was just about her best friend in the whole world. So it was that Saturday night Galena had ridden the bus to the Grimes house, desperate to get away from her family, to 'clean the pool'. And found the house empty. Well, she had her mother's key, and she knew to lock the door behind her. Maybe it had been the lure of the pool, silent and dark in the night, which had started the whole thing. Galena had stood by the pool and in a moment of unbelievable daring had undressed, slowly, calmly. First she removed the dress which came down to her knees and covered her arms to just above the elbow (if Galena was honest with herself she understood that her mother's rigid attitude towards her youngest daughter's clothing was formed by the unfortunate ordeal of her older sister, Elena, who at fourteen made their mother a grandmother). Then she took off her shoes and socks, socks which came up to her knees. For a moment Galena had paused, feeling the air tease her exposed skin as she stood by the pool in her bra and panties. Slender with breasts that were still deciding if they would take after her mother's and grow to earthy, sensuous, man-hypnotizing size, or take after her grandmother's and remain rather average; hips and butt that were well on their way to developing the curves that would announce her full-blown womanhood; skin that fairly glowed under the faint moonlight, soft and smooth the way a young woman's skin should be. She threw her head back, stretched her arms out to her sides and twirled in place. Then, feeling delightfully wicked, she added her bra, panties and glasses to the pile of clothing by the pool and dove in, scarcely disturbing the water as she did so. Skinny-dipping was something she'd never even considered doing before. She reveled in the freedom of gliding through the water unencumbered by clothing, and decided that if she had her way she'd never swim covered again. She knew she'd have to, but it was wonderful to dream. At last she understood why Carol went around naked, and would only throw on the most minimal of clothing for Galena and her mother, although when her mother was there, Carol did add panties to the ensemble. After a few minutes of getting her nerve up, she climbed out of the pool and, while forcing herself to walk, not run, refusing to give in to her embarrassment, she made her way to the diving board and stood naked on the end of it, out in the open, visible to anyone who could see over the twelve-foot fence. While that fence removed some of the sense of daring, it did make her feel a whole lot safer. Almost dancing on the end of the board, she dove deep into the water, reveling in its sensual caress of her entire body. Another fifteen minutes in the pool's embrace and she felt a need of a different sort. She continued her evening of wild adventure by drying herself off as best she could, then going inside and making herself a weak rum and coke. She took it to the 'bathroom of doom', as Carol called it, and positioning herself on one of the bidets, played with the controls until she found just the settings she craved. The warms jets of water gently started her on her way towards an orgasm as she sipped her drink with a Mona Lisa-like grin decorating her face. * * * * * "Harry, Kelly and I are going to stay over here tonight, help get some things squared away in the apartment," Margo said, sometime later. "Yeah, help her break in the bedroom," Kelly added, chuckling evilly. "Let you and Baby Girl have some together time." A little puzzled, Harry realized that it was another of those situations in life where the best course of action was to agree and find out what was going on at a later date and time. "We'll be back in the morning," Margo continued. "Think you can get Eddie and Tamara to give y'all a ride back to the house?" "Shouldn't be a problem," Harry responded. "HEY EDDIE, you got two riding in the back o' the truck." "Alright." "See, no problem. Nicki... there's something you and I need to discuss about Dad and Mom... not tonight, but some evening soon, just you and me, okay?" "Sure... uh, how's tomorrow night sound? I know you're off on Monday, so that'll give us plenty of time to talk, just in case things run long." "Works for me." After another hour or so of visiting, everyone went their separate ways. As they neared the park, Harry had a sudden inspiration. "Eddie, stop and let us out at the park, we'll walk from there." "You sure?" "Yeah... I think I am," Harry smiled. "At least I'm pretty well assured this walk will end better than the last one." "God I hope so," Carol said from where she was snuggled up next to him. "I could live a long, a very long and fruitful life and never have another evening like that." They climbed out of the back of the truck, and waved at Eddie and Tamara as the two of them drove slowly off into the night, Eddie watching them in the rearview mirror all the while. "Got your cellphone, got your whistle, got your straight razor?" "Damn straight, sir... loaded for bear." "Let's go then." Hand in hand they walked to the swings, took seats and started swinging back and forth slowly. "Did you know this place is haunted now?" Carol asked, a look of pain in her eyes belying the smile on her face. "Oh really... by whom?" "You... Nicki and I started taking walks in the evening, heard some kids talking. In the 'neighborhood legend' version of events, you didn't live. That's why you haunt the swing set where you were brutally murdered by a man with a hook." "Wow... mixing all our urban legends in, I see." "Oh yeah... I'm surprised you're not mourned by a woman in white." "Give me a few years, I will be... we haven't really talked about how you're doing, sweetheart. All the attention's been on my recovery, Margo's therapy, Kelly joining the family... Margo told me about the talk the two of you had, but that was pretty close on the heels of the attack. How are you doing?" They swung in silence for awhile, then Carol said, "You die, two or three nights a week... in my dreams, I mean. Sometimes the two of them follow me back to the house and kill everybody there... sometimes they just catch me and kill me... those are the best of a bad lot, as far as those dreams go. When they kill me, that's where it stops, they can't follow me back to the house. Nobody dies but you and me. If I didn't have the freedom to take naps in the afternoon, I don't know how I'd make it on as little sleep as I get sometimes." "Why the fuck aren't you getting some help? Little Cunt, there's no reason you can't see a therapist, like Margo's doing... hell, you could probably see the same one!" "I've thought about it a lot, sir... I think maybe a big part of me believes I deserve these dreams... that I failed you and these are my punishment." "No... no my love... as Margo told you, you didn't fail me, you saved my life. If you'd run a touch slower... well, it wouldn't have been one of my better nights. "Besides, Little Cunt, you're not the one who decides if you need punishing. That's a job for the rest of us. So let me tell you what's going to happen Monday. You're going to book an appointment with Dr. Stallings. If you don't like him or don't feel you can trust him and be open with him, then we'll find you someone else and we'll keep looking until you do find someone you can work with. Do you understand me?" "Yes sir." "Good, now let's go home... it's time for your punishment. Silly Little Cunt, thinking you had the right to decide that you deserved to be punished..." On the way back to the house, Harry and Carol steered clear of the illumination cast by the streetlamps. All anyone would have been able to make out was a pair of lovers, walking along with their arms around each others' waists. They would have missed the unbuttoned pants that gave Harry's hand access to an ass cheek that he held with an iron grip as his Little Cunt whimpered happily all the way back to their home. Harry hid his pain well the entire walk to the house. * * * * * "Wendy, you rest a bit, Quan and I are going to freshen up a bit, then we'll be back out and I'll be needing that fucking you promised, okay?" "Mm-kay... love you," Wendy murmured sleepily before resuming her snoring. "Love you too, sweetie." She padded into the bathroom and started up the shower as Quan sat on the toilet, pissing. "Thank God she's resilient," Jessica said, adjusting the water temp. "You should be thanking God she's able to get by on a lot of cat-naps," Quan replied, finishing up and preparing to join Jess in the shower. "I figure after you spend some loving time between my legs and Wendy does that pile-driver trick you enjoy so much, you should probably help the poor dear clean up some and then we all could use some solid sleep. Now that we've run out of booze, I've run out of anesthesia and I'm starting to feel everything we've done in the past thirty-six hours." "Good point," Jessica said, lovingly soaping Quan's crotch. "About what you said earlier, I kind of thought the two of you were going to be seeing to my needs." She smiled. "Oh we will, have no doubts about that," Quan said, stroking Jessica's face. "But you see, I love you, I love your body, I love making love with you... I plan to spend a lot of time doing it... and I've got no doubt Wendy feels the same way... now, while you've got two fulfilling your needs, my little Queen Bee, she and I only have one you to split between us. "And I don't know about our little darling in there, but I'm very demanding of my lover," Quan continued. "Whereas I think Wendy might well fall to her knees and become your slave, kind of like that girl 'Carol' you told me about, I'm not the slave type. I've got my own 'Queen Bee Quan' urges." Jessica's mouth ran down her lover's chest until her tongue brushed Quan's nipple. Then she bit it. "OW!" "Any day you want to be 'Queen Bee', my love, let's fight for it... if you win, I'll gladly take bottom... but don't think I'm going to give it to you on a platter." She reached up and gently applied pressure to Quan's neck, her other hand doing the same to Quan's breast. "I've got a lot of aggression built up and I don't want to hurt you or Wendy... at least, not in any way you won't enjoy. But I'm not going to roll over for anyone, even someone I love as much as I'm coming to love you. Are we clear?" Quan stretched her throat and neck out, exposing them while she groped behind Jessica's head. Getting a grip she brought Jessica's mouth to her bared throat. Jessica nipped the beautiful skin in front of her. "I see we have an understanding." * * * * * "So how did the three of you decide who stayed here and who went home with Harry?" Nicki asked as she pulled another box of kitchen items up on the counter to unpack. "It was really pretty easy," Kelly said, unloading a box of pots and pans into one of the lower cupboards. "We figured that Carol gets more than her share of household duties as it is, and she is the senior wife." "I thought Margo was senior," Nicki replied. "I was until we realized this was a group marriage," Margo said, breaking down a box. "If we're all married to each other, then it's pretty obvious that the original relationship is Harry and Carol, then I come in, then Kelly." "Ah... well, it does make sense for things to work out that way," Nicki replied. "I really do want to thank the two of you for staying over tonight... I feel like such a baby." "Nonsense... reality of the situation is, after all the trauma we've all been through in the last two months, pretty much any emotional reaction any of us have is easy to understand," Margo said. "I'm surprised I'm the only one whose in therapy... this has been a nightmare, in so many ways." "You can say that again," Kelly said, handing her another box to break down. "I've been thinking about it... therapy I mean... I just don't know if I want to put the family to the expense." "Do you think you'd benefit from spending some time in therapy?" Margo asked calmly. "Yeah, I think I would, but-" "No 'buts' about it, young lady, we'll make an appointment for you to see Dr. Stallings, and if he doesn't work for you, we'll find you one who does. Affording things is not a problem... and most especially where the mental or physical health of one of our family is concerned." "Yes ma'am." "Oh, don't give me that... it's just silly to not get you help because of your paranoia about money... like I told your parents. Harry and I make enough that neither you nor Carol need ever work a day in your lives. We love you, you silly bitch... come to think of it, would you like to see someone, Nicki?" "Uh... I probably should, but I don't know if I'm ready to or not. This has all been so... much... that I feel overwhelmed a lot of the time, but I'm not sure I'm ready to go back into therapy... my last bout with it wasn't too successful." "If you come to the decision that you need to, don't worry about paying for it, we'll cover it out of family funds," Margo said. "I feel pretty safe speaking for the family on that... you agree, Kelly?" Kelly had a 'deer-in-the-headlights' look about her. "Uh... I..." "Kelly, darling... you're our wife; you have a voice in our family's decisions, no matter what they be, financial included." "Uh... certainly... yes, I agree. The family will cover any costs incurred by Nicki for therapy." "Very good." "Well, that's sweet you guys, but I couldn't-" "NICKI!" "Yes ma'am?" "The issue's been resolved." "Feeling a little Domme tonight, Margo?" Kelly asked, smiling. "Apparently so... I'm sorry," Margo said, turning back from the cabinets. "I just..." She was greeted by the sight of Nicki and Kelly, faces down turned and arms crossed at the wrists before them. "Yours to command, Madam," said Kelly. "I live to serve, Madam," chimed in Nicki. "Well, let's finish up with the kitchen ladies, the bathroom and then the bedroom await!" * * * * * "Now then, Little Cunt, I'm going to give you three chances, and only three, to convince me to fuck your ass tonight," Harry said as they unlocked the front door and walked in. "The rest of the time you're going to be gagged. And if you're not very persuasive in those... oh, three minutes per attempt, then there's going to just be a whole lot of spanking without any other happy ass play tonight." "Sir please I-" "QUIET! Not another word... this is not one of your three chances." * * * * * While any of her brothers or sisters, especially Elena, would've been much more adept at talking their way out of the situation Galena found herself in, they weren't there and she was. One of her first big 'outrageous' evenings and she found herself trapped in a house where she shouldn't really be, although she knew there'd be no problem if she just called out she was there... well, except for the being naked part, the drinking part, the masturbating on their bidet part. She was pretty sure Carol would laugh it off but she wasn't sure about Harry... he might call her mother and that would be the end of the world. She did what any terrified teenager would do. She panicked. She killed the jets and scurried into the bedroom, hoping to somehow sneak past them into the back yard where her clothes were. She'd picked up her glasses... nine years of wearing them every hour she was awake had made that automatic, but her clothes were out back. In the living room Harry was stripping the clothes off Carol and throwing them into a corner. Galena peeked around the corner in time to see him remove her underwear. "You go in the kitchen, get us some water," he said, "I'm going to go get your gag." And then he started walking towards the bedroom, taking his shirt off as he came. Galena crept back away from the door and froze against the wall. If he didn't turn on the lights, she wouldn't be seen... maybe. Oil of Roses Ch. 31 Harry walked through the bedroom to the closet where they kept their toys. Finding the ball-gag without any trouble he headed towards the kitchen, never noticing the small crouching, naked woman hiding in the corner. In the kitchen, Carol's eyes registered something out by the pool that her mind filed away to be thought about later. Meeting her Master in the kitchen door with two sports bottles full of water and fruit juice, she wriggled and squirmed happily as he gagged her and led her to the bedroom. Hearing them coming, Galena had made a dash for the open closet, and once inside, in the very dim light found herself in a tangle of equipment she had no idea the purpose of. * * * * * As Harry started rigging up the bedposts, there was a sound from the closet. "I probably dislodged something when I got the gag," he thought to himself. Carol heard the noise too and when she went to the bathroom and saw the drink sitting by the bidet, things clicked together in her mind. The 'something' by the pool resolved into a pile of clothes... a dress she recognized. Pouring the drink and ice cubes down the drain she freshened up and hoped the young girl had the sense to sneak out when Carol gave her the chance. Galena was going to get a stern talking-to later in the week. Then Carol giggled to herself... well, a semi-stern talking-to, at least. * * * * * Galena looked through the closet door to the clock by the bed. She had to get her clothes and get to the bus stop in the next forty to forty-five minutes or she'd end up walking home... or having to let Carol and Harry know she was there and get them to give her a ride home. Neither was an option she wanted to explore. * * * * * Carol came back from the bathroom and motioned that she wanted the gag removed. "I don't think so... it's not time yet, Little Cunt. Get up on the bed." Carol hoped that Galena was either ready for what she was about to see, or smart enough not to watch if she wasn't. * * * * * Harry went around the room lighting candles after he'd secured Carol into position. She was bent over a large and very firm pillow; her arms ran beneath the pillow to the manacles and the lengths of chain that fastened them to the matching set on her ankles. More for show than anything else, given the amount of slack in the lines, the D-rings on her collar were secured by chain to bedposts as were her ankle manacles, somewhat more tightly, on the other end. Her legs were held apart by an ankle spreader and were it not for the sixteen-year-old in the closet, Carol would have been in heaven... secured and totally exposed to her husband, about to be punished, with three chances to convince him to give her what she wanted. She knew if she put her mind to it, she'd only need one. Galena crouched in the closet, hidden in some of Margo's outfits, with a view out the wide crack of the closet door that let her see all of Carol's exposure. Suddenly the door opened all the way and the light clicked on. Galena froze in terror. Her naked lower body was visible beneath the bottoms of the hanging clothes, her foot and ankle were out in plain sight! Harry rummaged through the pile of equipment which drew Galena's eyes almost against her will. She'd never seen anything like most of it before, although paddles and whips and such were easy to figure out. He pulled out a pair of paddles and then clicked off the light, leaving the door wide open. Galena knew she had a choice... she could close her eyes, try not to hear what was about to happen, try not to think about the first adult penis she'd ever seen, the penis that had swung freely within touching distance just a few moments before. As her hand went down between her legs, she knew any further thought on the matter was futile. * * * * * Harry started the spanking with a basic flat, leather-wrapped paddle. He shifted from one butt cheek to the other, back and forth, until the smell of Carol's arousal drove him to put the paddle down, bring his nose to her moist cunt, sniff deeply and then mount her from behind. With no prelude or foreplay, he slid into her and found, as he knew he would, that she was more than ready for him. "Damn you, you smell so good... I think a few strokes... oh... yeah... oh... will be all... I need... oh God, beautiful, oh..." He came inside her, riding out the throes of his orgasm while roughly kneading her slightly reddened ass. "Would I be correct, Little Cunt, in saying that you like being used, just as you like being spanked?" Carol nodded vigorously while she prayed that he would continue to fuck her for a bit longer as that was all she needed to go over the edge into her own climax. But Harry pulled out, the mixture of both their fluids dripping from his cock and running down from her cunt, hearing her whimpers as he did so. "There, that's better... where was I?" And then he picked up the paddle and returned to spanking her. Steady, measured, firm strokes fell on her ass cheeks, first one, then the other, like he was a machine. The redness rose and the lovely globes of her bottom began to swell. Periodically he would stop and ask, "Is everything alright, my little butt slut?" After she nodded, he'd continue. * * * * * Galena resisted the urge to bite through her lip as she came yet again. She'd already sank to her knees as they were no longer steady enough to hold her up and it was all she could do not to sprawl out atop the equipment on the closet floor and go at it with both hands. She couldn't believe where she was, what she was seeing and what she was doing. If she were truly the good girl everyone said she was she'd have never swam naked, or made herself that drink, or used the bidet to get herself off... but most of all, if she were the good girl everyone thought she was, she'd turn her face away from what was happening in the bedroom and ignore it. So maybe she wasn't such a good girl after all. She couldn't resist watching, she couldn't resist getting herself off. She'd done her best to make no sound as she knew she'd die of embarrassment if she was discovered, but it had grown harder and harder with each climax that steamrollered through her young body. * * * * * Carol was lost in a sweaty, hazy sea of sensation. She was being spanked, she was being loved, she was being watched, she was being used... and then she heard the whimpering, coming from the closet. Carol began to moan, loudly, behind the ball gag. "What is it, Little Cunt?" he said, loosening the ball gag so she could speak. "Sir, Sir, please... would you please go upstairs and put some music on? I know it's a lot to ask so I'm offering one of my chances to beg you to fuck my hot... red... swollen ass in exchange for you doing so." Harry smiled at the not-too-subtle attempt to seduce him into further ass play. "Alright, anything you're particularly in the mood for?" "Well, I got you those CDs you were interested in, the 'Black Tape for a Blue Girl'... they're on the desk in the office. Perhaps you could put them in the player?" "Alright, sounds like a plan... while I'm up I think I'll give Margo a quick call, see how things are going." And with that, Harry headed upstairs. * * * * * "Galena Maria Pessino, get your ass out here right now," Carol hissed. "You've got just a few minutes to get out back, get your clothes and get out the front door before Harry comes back." The dark-haired woman who came out of the closet with skin so close in shade to Carol's own was blushing almost as redly as Carol's ass was glowing. "Now you better be here Tuesday with your mother and while she's cleaning you and I are going to have a talk while you work on the pool... are we clear, young lady?" "Yes ma'am." "Now hurry!" With that, Galena scurried out the back door, grabbed her clothes, put them on and was out the front door, locking it behind her, even faster than she herself thought possible. * * * * * "Hey honey, how're things going over there?" Harry asked when Margo answered her phone. "Fine... we're almost through getting the bedroom ready for use and after that, well, Madam Margo has two willing playthings tonight." "Lucky woman... I'm lucky myself as I have Little Cunt tied down for a pretty severe spanking with no happy-happy-ass-fuck unless she's very persuasive... and she'll only have two three-minute periods to try to persuade me." "Oh, I like the sound of that... I'm going to have to add that to the repertoire... of course, fair warning, you know Mistress Nicki and the Queen will as well." "Such is life... a process of give and take. Figured I was going to end up on the receiving end of my own creativity at some point." "Uh huh... what did our precious one do to earn her spanking?" "Oh, she's been having nightmares associated with the attack and hasn't told anyone or sought help because she thought she deserved them for failing me somehow. I've told her we're making her an appointment with Dr. Stallings on Monday and if he doesn't work out we'll keep looking till we find someone who does." "Jesus Christ Harry! Talk about great minds... same topic came up over here, Kelly's going to be seeing Dr. Stallings as well, maybe Nicki too. I spoke for the family, and Kelly backed me up, when I told Nicki we'd cover any expenses therapy incurred, should she decide she could benefit from it." "You spoke true... you know I'll agree and there's no chance that little Miss Kind-Heart-with-the-Glowing-Butt downstairs wouldn't as well. Tell the darlings hello and we love them. Y'all have a good night. I love all of you." "Same here, most wonderful husband, love from all of us to the two of you. Breakfast at the house tomorrow morning you think?" "Works for me... if I'm not up when y'all get here, wake me." "Will do... get the crop out of the closet and give her three good slashes with it... one for me, one for Mistress Nicki and one for the Queen, won't you?" "Sure, not a problem... good night love." After he hung up he returned to the joys of trying to unwrap CDs. * * * * * Once they'd gotten home, the two of them had sat naked in the solarium and had a glass of wine while they relaxed. Patricia had been feeling romantic, but Karen had worked hard all day and as soon as she'd rinsed the sweat off in the shower she'd gone face down on the bed and was out like a light. As Patricia took her own quick shower, she reflected that she really couldn't blame her lover... Patricia was more than a little weary herself and she hadn't been doing half the heavy lifting. She dried off and then curled up in bed next to the sleeping slab of muscle that was Karen. In the darkness she could see the outline of her lover's face, and as her fingertips brushed across it she reflected how very close she'd come to losing Karen. Thankfully Carol and Harry had convinced Karen to find her and make her give Karen a second chance. She was more tired than she thought so she settled for an abbreviated form of her nightly prayers, knowing God would understand. "Creator, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you..." She was still softly murmuring 'thank you' as she drifted off to sleep, spooned up next to her beloved. * * * * * Eddie Janak had a secret, one he hadn't even shared with that most divine love of his life, Tamara. He and his associates had lost track of Angie. It had all started when she'd lost her job, not too long after their meeting at the hospital. Then she'd moved out of her apartment, leaving most of her possessions behind, and Eddie'd been going crazy ever since, trying to pick up her trail. As Tamara lay in bed asleep next to him, Eddie wondered if he was in the process of failing his best friend yet again. * * * * * As 'These Fleeting Moments', the first track on the CD 'A Chaos of Desire' began to play throughout the house, Harry slowly walked back down to the bedroom, his knee bothering him more than he wanted to admit, even to himself. Carol winced as she saw him come in, his limp evident. "May I speak, Sir?" "Yes," he said, moving to the bed and rolling her on her side. "Here, before you do, have some water." "Thank you, Sir." She drank deeply as he squirted a stream into her mouth. When he finished she said, "It seems your knee is bothering you quite a bit. I shouldn't have asked you to go upstairs." "Nonsense... I knew the job was dangerous when I took it," he said with a smile. "Is there anything else you wish to say?" "Yes sir... I would give up one of my chances to beg if you would get into the hot tub for awhile and let your knee get some rest and hydrotherapy." "Done... that leaves you with one chance. You'll be joining me... I'll probably need to the support." As he released her, she said, "Permission to speak freely while I'm unsecured, Sir?" "Go ahead." "Harry... love... your knee's not in as good a shape as you've been telling us, is it?" "No..." She went to the closet and pulled out the cane he'd come home with. "Here Sir, use it!" As they walked out to the hot tub he continued. "Neither Mike nor Helen was happy with the progress of my therapy... and they both admit it wasn't that I wasn't working hard enough. Mike's hoping that maybe the difference in my mental outlook, being at home instead of being in exile in the hospital, will make a difference." "And you didn't tell us this why?" "Because, to be brutally frank, I'm tired of being worried about by all of you... I just want to get the fuck on with life, even if it involves some pain." "You know the others are going to be hurt and pissed that you didn't tell them." "And you... are you hurt and pissed as well?" "Oh yeah... but I'm dealing with it. Tell me what Margo had to say." As the hot tub continued to come up to temperature, the two of them lay together and Harry relayed his conversation with their wife. * * * * * Galena caught the last bus of the night and sat prim and proper all the way home. Her mind was still racing from what she'd done, what she'd seen, and her panties were soaked. * * * * * "Can you breathe alright?" Mounds asked Bum. The guttural 'uh huh' that came from her crewmate's throat brought a smile to her face. She leaned over Bum's face, sniffing at the mixture of rum and pineapple juice that filled her open mouth as she lay on her back. "Y'know, Bum, y'make a damn fine goblet fer grog," she said before slurping some of the mix out of Bum's mouth. "Just be rememberin' that if ye have to clear yer mouth, swallow what ye can before spewin' the rest on that there cloth. Ye waste good rum and yer punishment'll last even longer than it will already." She turned from the Third Mate, wrists tied to opposite ankles across her wet and ready cunt and grasped the their blonde captive by her hair, pulling her up from where she'd laid face down on the bunk. "Now you, cunt..." Their blindfolded prisoner squirmed and her muffled cries filled Mounds' heart with joy. "You got two choices. I'm gonna ungag ye, let ye crawl yer way over and find the grog. After ye've had a sip to wet yer throat, ye'll be decidin' yer own fate by the next words outta yer mouth. Ye speak to me pleasant and respectful-like, things'll go easier on ye. Ye speak to me like ye did before... and it's a hard night ye're in fer, no doubt about it. I'll even release that malingerin' bitch, Bum, and together we'll use ye ill. So best ye be thinkin' how ye want yer next few hours to go while ye sniff out the grog." After she hauled her roughly off the bunk to the floor of the cabin, Mounds removed her gag and watched, chuckling, while the blindfolded prisoner scooted, with bound hands and ankles, across the floor, trying to find Bum by the strong smell of rum coming from her open mouth. Eventually she found the Third Mate, but almost stuck her nose in the wrong end of her. Second Mate Mounds laughed. "That end's wet enough it's true, slut, but I'm hardly thinkin' it'll quench yer thirst... I drunk from that fountain plenty o' times and it always leaves me wantin' more... better try the other end afore I go for more meself and leave ye nothing but a smell." The blonde beauty they'd abducted snaked her way around to Bum's head and plunged her mouth down upon the Third Mate's. The slurping sounds echoed through the cabin. When she was finished, she slumped over on her side, resting against the black beauty. "Now then, you miserable piece of wharf trash, you may do your worst, but this lady will never yield her honor, nor her dignity. You may take, but I shall never give." In one quick movement Mounds pulled her away from Bum and squatted over her. She grabbed a handful of the shimmering blonde hair and forced the prisoner's mouth to Mounds' wet and aching cunt. "Then takin' it'll be... ye stupid slut, we're good at takin'." * * * * * Harry lay back in the hot tub, the sharp jagged pains in his knee slowly abating. His beloved sat facing him, straddling his lap, passing him mouthfuls of water and lung-fulls of pot smoke while cuddling him, brushing his erection with her cunt. "Just relax, Sir... take it easy and let the hot water and the jets do their job." "It'd be a lot easier to manage that if you weren't pressing that delectable body of yours against me, Baby Girl." "Should I move, Sir?" He wrapped his arms around her. "Nope, won't let you... you're right where I want you." "Funny thing about that, Sir, I'm right where I want to be." "Even when you're hurt and furious with me?" "Even then, Sir..." she fingered one of the scars on his chest, "because if I'm honest about it, I have so little room to complain about keeping secrets. None of us really has room to talk, I suspect. So I'm working hard to let go of my hurt and my anger... and being close to the man who saved my life always helps with that." "God, you've paid that debt back a thousand times over-" "No Sir! I haven't even begun... that debt will be repaid the day I say it is... and if I were you, I wouldn't go holding my breath, waiting for that day to arrive." "Alright, my love, I shan't argue... might I have some more water? Oh my... my cock just slipped inside you! However did that happen?" "Umm, good question... let's just keep it there till we figure that out." * * * * * "Whip the slut's cunt again, she's slowin' down!" Mounds said, grinding her hairy slit into the prisoner's face. Behind her, Third Mate Bum lashed the blonde's cunt with an improvised cat o' nine made from strips of cloth. The tips of the lash were wet from being drug through the captive's moist and open quim. "She still wet as a drunkard's kiss down there?" "Yes'm Mounds, soggy as a widow's hanky she is." The Second Mate climbed off the prisoner's face and grabbing the mass of hair at the back of their captive's head, pulled her over until their noses were almost touching. "Listen you haughty bitch, yer mouth can lie all it wants but your cunny's tellin' us the truth! Ye might as well yield now and save yerself some trouble, cause next it's candle wax an' a whippin' on those soft an' creamy inner thighs o' yers." "Go to hell, you sea-going whore!" "Bum! Bring me a candle!" * * * * * The knocking at the door had Nick up and moving, somewhat slowly but moving just the same, before he realized he was even awake. "Izzy, what is it?" he asked, opening the bedroom door. "Sorry to disturb you, Boss. Jimmy C followed up on that intel... Madame Pedachenko had several men picked up from the airport this evening... hard cases... Jimmy figures ex-Spetsnaz. We'll have ID's from the bodies later but he says they got the right tattoos. What do you want done?" Oil of Roses Ch. 31 "Goddamn, did the bitch think I was fucking joking? Married a boy-buggering bastard like Ivan, I'd have thought she'd be happy to get rid of him... have her hit... somewhere public, very visible. I want it clean, surgical and untraceable. The right people will get the message. "Goddamn Izzy, am I going to have to kill every of them?" "I dunno, Boss." Nick closed the door and crawled back into bed. Randy rolled over. "Are you okay, love?" "No..." Nick said, "no I'm not." * * * * * "Last chance, milady." Mounds held the fat glass jar with the candle in it above the prisoner's belly, tautly stretched between her bound wrists tied to the bunk frame and the enthusiastic Bum holding her legs. "Ye can yield now, or suffer." "I'll suffer! I told you I'd never yield, you slut!" Margo looked at Nicki, the question plain in her eyes. Nicki smiled reassuringly and nodded. "Fine then, wench, prepare for the pain!" Slowly Mounds let a thin line of wax flow from the candle to fall down upon their captive's exposed flesh. As the woman began to cry out, Mounds shoved a rag in her mouth. Gradually the line of wax wound its way up her stomach towards her breasts. Dribble by dribble, inch by inch their victim grew more and more agitated until, when the wax line was almost to her breast she began shake her head back and forth. Mounds stopped and removed the rag. "I yield... I yield... you foul and unnatural creature... I yield..." the prisoner cried, tears running down her cheeks. "I will serve you and your base desires." Mounds blew the candle out, put it up on a table and lay down on her side next to their prisoner. "Bum, quit enjoyin' the view and get to lickin' me, ye worthless scallywag!" she said as she spread her legs. "Now, milady fair," she continued, "heave to and prepare to be boarded." She began to kiss away the woman's tears, her hand peeling away the cooled and congealed wax and putting it on a towel on the other side of her victim. When all of the wax was removed, and the tears kissed away, she wrapped her hand around the woman's breast, teasing the nipple with her thumb. "Now then, what shall we call you, my pretty?" she wondered aloud. * * * * * The Pessino house was a small, fourteen hundred square foot four-bedroom to begin with and had gotten smaller when Elena had her baby. That was when Galena and her sisters had all moved into one bedroom, like the boys had been all the time. So then it was four girls in one bedroom, three boys in another, Elena and the baby in a third, Emiliano and Anna in the fourth. And it seemed like there were always cousins and aunts and uncles staying over on the sofa bed in the living room. Galena had always felt like she was living in a prison... a friendly prison, most of the time, but a prison nonetheless. The only privacy she had was when she closed the curtains she'd hung around her lower bunk bed, put on her headphones and turned the volume up. Even then the sounds and shadows of movement of a houseful of people crept into her tiny bubble of space. As she wrote a 'friends only' post in LiveJournal, the first time she'd ever had anything to write that needed to be 'friends only', and recounted the night's events, the faint snoring of her sisters Silvia, Rosa and Marilu could be heard from the bedroom around her. * * * * * On their return from the hot tub, Harry had securely fastened Carol to an angled spanking bench. He looked down at his love, wondering at the sides of himself he'd never known existed. Just a few months before, he'd never have believed that looking at a woman in this position would be the turn-on that it was. Carol was manacled to a bench, her beautiful thighs held in place with wide leather straps, her neck collar fastened down securely on both sides, her forearms secured in the same way as her thighs. When they'd ordered the bench from Madame Cornelius' supplier Carol had asked for additional restraint points to be added so that she could be laced in across the bench 'top' as well, and so she was, the adjustable leather restraints crisscrossing her back from just above her ass to right under her arms. "Time for us to finish this, my love... are you going to remain silent, or do I have to gag you?" "I'll hold my tongue, Sir." "Good." Taking a moment to strap on his brace he got the other paddle he had brought out from the closet, the one covered with blunt studs. And while Carol was facing the other way and unable to see what he was doing, he leaned into the closet and got out a leather riding crop as well. "If you find that you must make noise, call out the count. Otherwise be silent." "Yes sir." He started out slowly, one cheek and then the other, increasing the force incrementally, enjoying the sight of Carol squirming in her restraints, free to lose control since she was so securely fastened there was no way she could move. She had already been wet by the time he finished strapping her down, but as the spanking continued, once again the smell of her arousal filled the air around him and even if she wasn't his love, even if he didn't find himself turned on by the sight of her in bondage before him, the smell alone would have had him hard, the sweat, tang and sweetness of a woman's desire. He realized he'd taken about all that he could, it was time for other things... and then he remembered the crop. He reached down, picked it up off the floor. "Madame is as upset by your arrogance as I am." SLAP! The crop came down across her reddened ass and rebounded into his hand. She stifled her cry bravely. "The Queen is most angry with you; I doubt you've heard the last of this from her." SLAP! A second line of swollen scarlet crossed her bottom, making a shallow 'x' with the first. The sob that escaped her lips was bitten off, but very audible. "Mistress Nicki's ire has been raised as well at such impudence from a servant." SLAP! The third line rose on his love's beautiful ass and he dropped the crop, glad it was over. The soft sound of crying came from his lover's mouth. He walked around and, taking the brace off, knelt in front of her. "Sweetheart, did I hurt you too badly?" "No... no Sir... I'm just sorry... sorry that I angered all of you... I didn't mean to... I just can't... I just can't understand how I didn't fail... when you were hurt so badly... I just can't..." "Shh, shh my love... you don't have to understand it, but believe us when we tell you that you didn't fail me... we wouldn't lie to you. Please... don't ever bottle up things like that again... are you going to be alright?" he asked, brushing her tears away. "Oh yes sir... that spanking was... well... I'm afraid I came...more than once... that first strike with the... was it a crop?" "Yes, it was the crop." "Oh... that was... mmm... just what I needed to send me over the edge... again..." "Alright, now that we've determined that you're still a wonderful, glorious little freak of nature," he said smiling, "I'll give you a minute to get your shit together before starting your three minutes to convince me to fuck that luscious ass of yours." "Oh Sir, I don't need any time... I just need you to bring your ear to my mouth so I can whisper to you." He bent down until he felt her lips brushing the surface of his ear. "Daddy," she whispered, "I'm sorry I upset you and Mommy and my big sisters." Her breath moved across his ear, warm and sensual. "But I've been a good girl and taken my punishment and while you've got my pussy all wet and aching, and I'd love it if you gave me a good fucking, and my little pussy could feel your cock sliding in and out... well Daddy, I've paid for my mistakes, and there'll be plenty of time for you to fuck me later tonight, why you'll be able to fuck me all you want with everybody out of the house, but right now... I really... really... need... my bottom filled." And then her tongue caressed his ear, swirling around the lobe before darting back into her mouth. Within a few minutes he had her tiny brown rosebud lubed and was sliding into her ass... just like she'd known he would. * * * * * Mounds lay on the bunk while Bum continued to use her talented tongue drive her towards yet another climax. The prisoner, now known as 'Blondie', had her tongue buried in the Third Mate's cunt as she showed her willingness to do whatever she was told, so long as she was tortured no more... or at least, not tonight. Bum paused for a moment, caressing her crewmate's thigh and said, "Mounds, darlin', it ain't fair... she yielded and here she is, suckin' on my cunny like she was born to it and no one's doin' a thing for her." "Well, she does look mighty tasty..." A few moments later, the familiar triangle had appeared on the bed as the three women formed a chain of gentle, soft lovemaking. * * * * * "Oh yes... Daddy... that's it... oh please... oh... GOD... yes..." The spanking bench ground into the carpet with every thrust as Harry pounded in and out of his darling wife so hard that when his balls slapped against her it actually hurt him... not enough to stop, or even slow down, but the pain was real enough. He felt the muscles of her sphincter clamp down on him during a backstroke as she started another orgasm but he tightened his grip on the crossed straps on her back and drove back into her anyway, reveling in the sensation as his cock slid through, squeezed almost more tightly than he'd imagined possible. "OH Daddieeeeeeeeeeeee..." she cried, "oh... goddamn... that's what I needed... oh... yes... oh... please... come in me... please..." "Sweetie... for that to happen... you're gonna need... to relax a bit more..." "Sorry Daddy..." She relaxed her sphincter and began to swivel her butt in what small range of motion was open to her. "Is that better? Is that what you want? Is that... oh... it is!" Harry's orgasm was long and draining but she remained relaxed throughout it, feeling his cum inside her and him shudder and shake behind her, hearing him moan. As he finished, he pulled out and she moaned in dismay. "Sorry my love... I think I've got till the endorphins wear off... to get you unstrapped... then my knee's gonna have words with me..." "Well hurry then, Daddy..." He started with her wrists and then moved down her body. When he was finished she said, "Alright, let's get you in Hot Tub Jr." as she helped him into the bathroom. Helping him to slide his bad leg over the rim into the tub, she got him in and down. "Jesus Christ, this tub is cold!" "It won't be for long, let me get you and me both cleaned up before I put us in a tub of water." With that she crawled in and used a hose and spray head to rinse off his cock and sluice out around her ass. "Now that we're through with that, let's get the hot water going in here, warm up this tub... and you... and let me enjoy having my Daddy all to myself for the night." After the tub was filled and she'd made a run for drinks, she got the jets going and then cuddled up next to him. "So, I gather you really, really were looking forward to that fantasy last night, huh?" he asked. "Yeah, but I also know from some of our past games that you've got a similar kink as well. I mean, look at all the fun 'Susan' and her daddy 'Ed' have had together... I'm violating the fantasy as it was conceived originally in that we're obviously fucking, but other than that... I'm happy to be your little eighteen-year old. "Daddy, my ass is a little sore from you fucking me earlier... would you kiss it and make it better?" "Oh darling, there's nothing I'd like to do more," he said, as she stood up in the tub and turned her butt to him. * * * * * "Edward, I'm tired of pretending to be asleep. If you're going to lay there and brood, may I brood with you?" Eddie sighed. "Why do you pretend to sleep?" "Because if I'm awake, you have a tendency to get all put out and that doesn't help you sleep." "And why are you awake in the first place?" "Because you are, my love... as much as possible, as often as possible, I don't sleep if you're not asleep. It's my duty, it's my privilege to serve you... how can I serve if I'm asleep? Yet you don't need to worry that I'm awake, so I give you the illusion that I'm not... although much to my chagrin it's sometimes not an illusion. I do fall asleep on occasion." Eddie reached over and pulled his tiny lover up on top of him. "Sometimes," he said, "I think you take this 'slave' thing too far." "Edward, Sir... that's impossible for me to do... you know that... serving you makes me happy beyond my ability to express." She wrapped her arms and legs around as much of him as she could. "Have I told you lately that I feel completely and utterly safe when I'm with you?" He said nothing and after a time she looked up at his face to find tears rolling down his cheeks. "Edward, my love," she said, crawling up him slightly and putting her arms around his neck, "happy or sad?" "Happy, Theresa... happier than I ever dreamed o' bein'." "Well then, share some of that happiness, if you would be so kind, and make love to me." "Alright, small one, let's make a baby." * * * * * The three women ended up cuddled together in the bunk, Blondie sandwiched between Mounds and Bum. "Oh Bum, just wait till Twat an' the Cap'n get a taste o' this one... it's a cryin' shame she won't be sailin' with us." "Aye, a damn shame to be leavin' her behind... and her other parts... here in port," Bum replied, smiling as she kissed Blondie's neck. "But... you will put in here often, won't you?" Blondie asked, afraid of losing her newfound loves. "Oh darlin', once the Cap'n gets a samplin' o' yer charms, I'm thinkin' we'll be droppin' anchor hereabouts more often than we might o' before," Bum said, grabbing the blonde's breast and squeezing it. "Yeah sweetie," Mounds added, "although next time I'm thinkin' we'll be carryin' ye down to the port and aboard the Free Booty... more room... more toys... more interestin' ways to string ye up." As the three of them settled in to sleep, Nicki looked at her sisters... at her lovers... at her friends. "You people are crazy; you know that, don't you?" "Never doubted it for an instant," Kelly replied. "Nope, me neither," Margo said. * * * * * Quan woke up to motion on the bed. She opened an eye and saw Jessica was on her back and had propped her butt up on some pillows to give Wendy a better angle as the young girl pounded away into Jessica's cunt. "How long have you two been awake? How long did I sleep?" "Oh... about... a half hour... for us... you've been out... for about... four hours... I woke up... to this sweetie... licking my cunt... and that left her... with a problem... so after I came... a couple of times... OH... I decided to help her... with it..." Quan watched her lover getting fucked by the pretty young girl between her beautiful plump legs and felt a growing tingling in her own cunt. "Hey QB, feel like hookin' a sistah up?" "Only... if you promise... to never... go urban... on me... again." "Well, how about I promise not to for awhile?" "Good enough... get that tasty... slit of yours... over here... on my face..." "Yes ma'am, QB." "Quan... what's 'QB'... mean?" asked Wendy. "Means 'Queen Bee'... or 'Queen Bitch'," Quan replied, settling her moist cunt over Jessica's mouth. "Then can I be 'WB'... for 'Wendy Bitch'... far as most people know... or 'Wanna Be'... between us?" "I got no problem with it," Quan said, "and from the laughter coming from between my legs, I don't think QB has a problem either... you should do that more often... that feels... mmm... nice." She settled down on Jessica's face a little more firmly. "Oh yeah, baby... hmmm... and I wanna be 'Takeout'." "Why 'Takeout'?" Wendy asked, already laughing. "Because I'm hot, tasty and an hour after you eat me you want me again, isn't that right QB?" "Mmm hmmm." Wendy leaned forward, giving Quan a quick kiss on the shoulder. "Just had to be... different... didn't you?" "Oh... you know me... WB... I'm a trendsetter." * * * * * Eddie held Theresa in what was his favorite position, curled up in his arms like a somewhat large baby as she lay upon his chest. "I don't see how you breathe when I'm like this, Edward," she said. "My love, you're a feather to some I've had on my chest, both pleasurably and otherwise. So, what would you want to name them tonight?" "Well, 'somethin' Rachel for a girl, 'something' Edward for a boy..." "Yeah, it's the 'something's' I'm wondering about." "I know... well, I'm thinking Carolyn Rachel tonight, and Harold Edward. What do you think?" "I think you're the best thing that's ever happened to me." "Likewise Edward, most definitely likewise." "Something I been meaning to ask you... I know we talked about gettin' married at the same time as Harry and company, but if you turn up pregnant..." "Do I want to hurry up and get married so any baby we might have wouldn't be conceived out of wedlock? Edward, thank you for thinking of that, but to me it really doesn't matter. The child will be born in wedlock, and we'd know, as would he or she later in life, that we didn't marry because I got pregnant, we married because we wanted to and they just happened to be conceived before the scheduled event." "Okay, just thought I'd check." "I love you, Edward." "Thank God you do, Theresa... I love you too." * * * * * A few hours later, a thoroughly exhausted Harry lay with his head in Carol's lap. "Sweetie?" "Yes Daddy?" "Honey, send the little girl to bed, I need to spend some time with my wife." "Not a problem, beloved husband, what can I do for you?" "You feel like loading up the little pipes, going out for a float on the pool and looking at the stars for awhile?" "Sure... any particular reason why?" "Because I love you and I'm not ready for this evening to end just yet." "Damn... good reasons! You start heading towards the pool, I'll get the pipes." A few moments later they drifted beneath the stars in their reclining float chairs, water bottles by their sides, sucking in smoke and holding hands. * * * * * After the activities of the previous evening, Margo awoke hungry to an empty bed. Crawling out she found Kelly and Nicki in the kitchen, staring morosely at each other over glasses of pineapple juice. "No food in the house, huh?" she asked. "Nope," Kelly replied. "Not a smidgen," Nicki added. "Well then, let's head over to the house... Lord knows we've got food there and I imagine we can eat and such without waking up Harry and Carol." A few minutes later they were dressed and out the door. Upon arriving at the house, they proceeded to the kitchen straight away where Nicki called them to the window. "Ladies, come look at this!" Out in the pool, shaded from the early morning sun by the trees were Carol and Harry, asleep in their float chairs, still holding hands as they drifted on the water. Margo and Nicki walked out to the edge of the pool where Margo knelt down and collected the pipes that had been put by the water's edge. "They look so peaceful... and it must have been nice, going to sleep out under the stars," Nicki said softly. With a scream Kelly burst from the house sans clothing, ran to the pool, leapt into the air and tucked into a 'cannonball' position. The resulting explosion of water was most impressive. "The bitch has a death wish," Margo thought as she watched the water spray everywhere. Oil of Roses Ch. 32 Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes. Thanks to Sensual Curves for her help in proofreading. Thanks to my wife for handling the editing duties on this chapter. After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work. I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address. If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission. If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so. * * * * * "Why haven't we killed her yet?" Harry muttered, standing under the shower with Carol, Margo and Nicki. "We love her too much," replied Margo. "We wouldn't be whole without her," Carol added. "She's incredibly fun in bed," Nicki said. "Good reasons all," Harry agreed, "but there are times, like this morning, when I really wonder if they're enough." In the kitchen the woman who had managed to soak all four of her lovers with one cannonball was faced with the daunting task of breakfast. Harry had started the coffee but otherwise, breakfast was all hers. She tucked the towel around her hair a little tighter, pulled the robe closed and retied the belt after warming herself in front of the oven for a bit and wished the robe was a little longer. "God, I swear these people can't take a joke," she muttered to herself, but then she smiled. It had been worth it for the way Harry and Carol screamed. * * * * * After breakfast Harry told the rest of the family about his physical therapy and the continuing problems he was having with his knee. "...and so I didn't say anything because there isn't really anything y'all can do and I'm tired of being the object of everyone's worry. I feel like my life's been on hold ever since the attack and this was just one more thing that was trying to get between me and being back to normal." "Baby, I understand but... you should have told us," Margo said. "I know, I know I should have and I have no excuse for what I did, all I have is the reasons I didn't tell you... and they certainly don't excuse my actions. "Which raises an idea I've been mulling over in my head... we need a family council. A system in place not only to discuss issues that affect all of us, but to also handle issues like assigning breakfast duty to beautiful wives who cannonball into the pool unexpectedly. It's a way for us all to have a voice, and a way for penance to be assigned when one of us does something upsetting or hurtful to the family. What do you think?" "Sounds like a good idea," Kelly said, "but who sits on it? I mean, does Nicki sit on the family council? She's family, but she's not a part of the marriage..." "I don't think I should sit on it... except in certain circumstances when at the request of two or more of the council members, the extended family is brought in, all of them, to consider a particularly serious issue," Nicki responded. "The family is just you four who make up the marriage." "That sounds right... well then, that raises the question, who are members of the full extended family?" asked Margo. "Well, I think we can agree on Eddie, Tamara, Karen, Patricia and Nicki... what about Tattie?" said Carol. With a chorus of assents Tattie was acknowledged as a member of the extended family. "Anyone else?" Harry asked. "Well, there's Nick," Kelly said, "but I'm not sure he really qualifies." "To me he does, but he doesn't," Harry replied. "He walks, talks and acts like a member of the extended family, and we treat him like one, but he really isn't one... not yet... maybe not ever. I don't know." "I'd agree," Margo said, "not yet, maybe not ever. Remember, his interests and ours may collide someday, and if they do, make no mistake, he won't come down on our side out of sentimentality." "I'm with them," agreed Carol. "Love him, like him even, want to bear and raise a child of his some day as a part of our family, after at least one or two from a certain husband I know, but trust him completely and implicitly, no." "Then it's unanimous," Kelly added. "No Nick." "Alright then," Harry said, "I call the first family council meeting to deal with my hurtful withholding of information that the family had every right to know. I tell you now that if any cute or funny penance is assigned I'll refuse it. This was a serious mistake on my part and the consequences of my actions should be serious as well." "Fine, we understand," said Carol. "Do you want to be included in the deliberations?" "No... it's for the three of you to decide. As long as no family council meeting is secret, I can see situations where all four of us being present would hamper deliberations... this situation being one of them." "Alright, why don't you and Nicki go talk somewhere while we discuss this?" "Certainly, you know where I am if you need me." Harry and Nicki headed to the bathroom and sat in the tub together while the Jacuzzi jets massaged Harry's leg. "Sis, while we have the time... do we want to have that discussion we were going to have tonight?" She took a sip of her water. "Works for me... the suspense has been eating at me ever since you mentioned it." "Okay... Nicki, I got a letter from Dad that he'd written the Saturday before the accident..." * * * * * "...and that's why I never said anything about the letter. Their deaths were an accident... that way, everything worked out okay, the insurance paid off, you weren't left thinking Dad abandoned us... and until very recently no one but me knew that there was nothing accidental about it. He'd established the routine of taking her for drives, waited for a weekend with bad weather projected, written and mailed the letter... and then ended both their lives... and both their pain. "But when I told Carol, it was like there was this great weight that lifted off of me. At last there was someone I could pour out my hurt to. I didn't have to bear the secret alone anymore... and that helped me realize I didn't need to keep it anymore either. Enough time had passed; you deserved to know the truth. As to whether you'll thank me for telling you or not, well, that's for you to decide." Nicki Grimes sat and looked at her brother. She felt numb inside. "Were you ever... did you ever get mad at him?" "Oh, plenty of times." "It's just... how did you... how do you deal with that anger?" "I'm not angry about it anymore... but there for awhile... well, what I did was remember Mama, before she got sick. Dad wanted to go where that woman was, wanted to help Mama be that woman again... I couldn't... I can't blame him for that. I hope to God they're together somewhere, dancing the way they used to in the living room. "And then Carol came along, and I could understand how he felt... understand it completely. Granted, the dynamics are a little different, but if only one of those wonderful women was left, and if she was in as much pain as Mama had been... well, we'd start taking drives together... so long as any kids the family might have were grown, or near grown." "I can see that... but I can also see a lot of family, friends and loved ones left behind not understanding that it wasn't that you didn't love them, it was that you loved her more. Would you... would you hold me, Harry? I'm feeling very small and lonely right now." "You shouldn't even bother asking... come here." Harry held his sister as her tears began. "Harry... what was it like... after you got the letter?" "It was... it was like I lost everything but you, all at once. I mean, losing Mom and Dad was bad enough, but it was an accident, and I was coping with that... and then this big chasm opened up beneath me and I thought for awhile I was going to go crazy. It was like this swirling maelstrom of despair and all I knew was that our father had abandoned us. All I wanted to do was sleep and scream and cry and hit things... and I couldn't. I couldn't let you know. I had to protect you from that hurt. I had to hold it all together for you. "I was hurt... I was scared. God, Sis, I was so scared. I was going to screw it up, I knew it. Yeah I was mad at Dad... I wasn't ready to take care of you, I wasn't ready to take care of me... and after the non-stop emotional road-wreck of that funeral, I was right on the edge of panicking and running, I mean full-blown losing it, and Eddie sat me down and gave me a good long talking to. In the first place, I had no choice, Dad and Mama were gone and the job had to be done. In the second place, he helped me to see I'd been doing a lot of the job already for quite awhile, ever since Mama had gotten sick... well, you remember what it was like. She got sicker, Dad got more focused on taking care of her, I just sorta fell into it as things went along. And in the third place he told me I always had him to fall back on... which was crazy since I wouldn't even tell him where we lived." Harry smiled at the memory. "I loved the big sumbitch back then, but Jesus, he had a low sense of humor... especially when he'd been drinking." He kissed the top of Nicki's head. "It really helped me to know that I wasn't completely alone, that I had some sort of... 'support system' I guess we'd call it now. I mean, I had you... but you were the one I had to be strong for." "Well God, bro... you never showed how scared you were... I don't know how but I never got the feeling that you were worried or angry or scared," Nicki said, tears still trickling down her cheeks. "Then I did my job... you were the smart one, sis. You were the one who had the chance to make it. I was just a dumb stoner and the only job I wouldn't allow myself to fuck up was getting you into college and on your way." Nicki slammed a fist into Harry's chest. "You weren't a dumb stoner!" "I know that now, love, but at the time I was convinced that was all I was, and all I'd ever be." He stared, unseeing, at the stained glass windows, his mind years in the past. "Then when I got to college... I thought for sure there was something wrong... it wasn't as hard as everyone said it was. I mean, it wasn't high school, but high school was so easy even morons like me could get through. College was supposed to be tough." "It was, you were just nowhere close to being stupid," Nicki replied. "Yeah well, again, in retrospect I'd agree with you, but at the time? That couldn't have been it. I didn't see any serious cracks in the wall of 'stupid' I'd built up in my mind until Karen and I were in business together. I'd be shooting out ideas at a mile a minute, from a hundred different directions, and there she'd sit, one of the smartest women I'd ever known, looking at me like I was from another planet. But even then I could find a way to lie to myself and figure it was just a knack... not real intelligence or ability, just a trick of sorts." "Damn, I don't think I've ever met anyone as determined to think of themselves as stupid as you were!" Nicki said, punching him in the chest, much more lightly, again. "Oh, very guilty as charged, sis... no doubt about it... but we made it through... you're okay, getting more so every day... other than this inexplicable desire to make love with your brother. I'm okay... hell, I'm living in a dream, even with the attack and a fucked-up knee. And you know we'll all help you deal with the bombshell I've dropped on you." Her tears continued and she sobbed into his neck. "Have I told you lately how glad I am that you've come home, sis?" Harry asked, softly. "It's not the sex, I mean, that's great and kinky and touching beyond my ability to express and a whole lot of other feelings as well... more than anything, it's just so good to have you home." * * * * * After awhile her tears had run out and Harry had warmed up the water again before his fingers brought her to a gentle orgasm as they kissed tenderly in the tub. Afterwards, his hard-on was standing up proudly but he told her not to worry about it. "Well, I won't, but it will make this easier," Nicki replied, scooting over and grabbing the soap. "I've always found it simpler to clean an erect cock than a limp one. Come on, it's time for sister Nicki to give her big brother his bath." Later, as he was lying on his stomach, what little weight the water wasn't supporting resting on her legs as she soaped the back side of his body, she asked "I wonder what's taking the council so long? I'd have thought they'd be through quite some time ago." "I don't know either," he murmured, enjoying the sensations of being bathed, "but I'm hoping it means they took me at my word when I asked for serious penance for not saying anything about my knee. Oh, and if you keep playing with my asshole like that, this bath is going to get shortened considerably because me and my gimpy leg are going to throw you, kicking and screaming if necessary, on that bed in there and fuck you senseless." "Sorry... wasn't really paying attention." "Uh huh, sis... sure you weren't." Later still, after Nicki had turned him over and had him sitting between her legs while she washed his hair, he said, "Okay... you've got me... this feels so goddamn good it's positively sinful... what do you want, you wicked woman... name it." As she dug her fingers in close to his scalp, gently scrubbing, she replied, "That's an easy one... bathe me when I'm finished with you." "Damn, you're easy to please," he said. "Yeah... well, don't let that get around... quickest way for a girl to get a reputation." "Oh, worry not, your secret is safe with me... now, I don't know if it's safe with the Grimes Estrogen Brigade, but it's safe with me... unless I'm tortured... like this..." "Oh yeah, I can tell, my secret's real safe," she replied as her arms slipped down around him in a hug. * * * * * When Carol, Margo and Kelly finished their deliberations and went in search of their husband and sister, they found them in the bathtub, laughing. Harry had made shampoo horns with Nicki's hair and was in the process of making a second set. "Looks like fun," Kelly said. "Yep, but let's get business out of the way first," Margo responded. "Harry, the family council has a decision, but it does need to be unanimous for it to do anyone any good," Carol said. "We think that, in addition to any counseling or therapy any of us are getting individually, we need to start seeing a family counselor at least once a month, twice a month would be better." "Sounds reasonable, got anyone in mind?" he replied without hesitation. "Yes," said Margo, "I called Hal and asked for his advice. He recommended a Dr. Susan Lowenstein... she's family counselor, among other things." "Among other things?" Harry said, eyebrows raised. "She's also into a whole melting pot of alternative therapies and alternative... well, everything's," Margo continued. "Hal felt she'd be the family therapist most likely to accept us and our lifestyle, as well as have a broad enough range of experience to be of some use to us." "Sounds good to me, let's make an appointment with her," Harry replied. "Harry honey," Kelly said, "just out of curiosity, why'd you agree so quickly?" "Kelly, sweetheart, why wouldn't I? To make a marriage succeed with just two people takes a lot of work and compromise. There are probably many more couples who would profit from family counseling than pursue it. Now, let's up that relationship to three people... the potential problems don't simply increase by half again, they increase... well, it would seem exponentially. Now add a fourth... right now it's all 'hearts and flowers' and the bloom of first love... but sooner or later we'll have to get down to the serious and difficult business of making our marriage work long term. Family counseling to me is not only a good idea to help deal with my problem, hell, all our problem of keeping things bottled up and hidden, but it's a good idea as preventative medicine, so to speak." Kelly leaned over the tub and threw her arms around her husband's neck. "I knew I loved you for more than your sparkling smile and winning personality." "So," Harry squeaked as Kelly hugged him tightly, "do y'all want to join us in here or do you want to help me rinse off Nicki, throw on some clothes, go see a movie or something?" "Well, you go ahead," Nicki said, grabbing the spray head and beginning to rinse the soap out of her hair, "but I really need to go do some shopping and such, and then get back to the new place and continue making it mine." "Fair enough," Harry said, helping her to get all the shampoo out, "let's get you on your way then we'll decide what to do with our lazy Sunday." As Nicki was about to leave, Carol said, "Sis, since I won't be talking to you this week, we're taking Hal and Tori Stallings to Dominique's Friday night. It's a club/sex-show/match-making kinda place. You up for it?" "Wouldn't miss it for the world... what time?" "Leave here probably about 9, 9:30." "I'll be here with bells on." "Better yet be here with something slinky-kinky on," Carol shot back. After Nicki'd gone, Harry looked at Carol, "What, we're not going to see her this next week? There are no phones at her new place? Cell service doesn't reach there?" Carol stuck her tongue out at him. "No, she's just going to be real busy. She's going to immerse herself in the notes Tony left me, see who she can identify and who we'll have to ask Nick or Big Vic about. She told me she tends to get a little anti-social when she's working like that... said you'd understand." "Oh yeah...her around exams time was a barrel of laughs... in that whole 'who-is-this-demon-bitch-and-what-did-she-do-with-my-sister?' sense of the word 'laughs'. Dad used to tell me she was just 'intense', to which I'd reply, no, she's just 'insane'." * * * * * The four of them sat on the bed, all cross-legged except for Harry with his bum leg outstretched, facing each other in a circle, knees touching each other, each lost in their own contemplation of the eternal. 'Church' had become a welcome and necessary part of their week. First Carol, then Kelly, then Margo and lastly Harry opened their eyes and sat looking at the others, relaxed and at peace. "Before we break the circle there's something I need to talk to y'all about," Carol said. "In the spirit of not keeping things in that should be shared... I really need more submissive time." She looked at her family apprehensively but found only openness and attentiveness. "It's not that I need, or even want, to give up any of the duties I'm responsible for... it's that when I'm not dealing with those, I need to be treated like a submissive." "Do you mean in the bedroom or-" Kelly began. "No sweetie, I think she means everywhere," Harry said. "You're right, my love, everywhere. 'Submissive' is what I am. It's not a role I play. Any time I'm not being submissive I'm playing a role. I don't know if any of you can truly understand... 'submissive' and 'dominant' are roles for you, Kelly, you too Harry, 'submissive' is definitely a role for you, Margo, while 'dominant' is more than a role but it's still not what you are." Kelly said, "Well, I'd ask you to let us know when we need to be more dominant but that rather defeats the purpose... Margo, when you're home, why don't you try to keep Harry and I focused where Baby Girl is concerned?" Oil of Roses Ch. 32 "Works for me," Margo replied, "how about you, Harry my love?" "Sounds like a plan." "Certainly works for me," Carol squealed happily. "Little Cunt!" Margo said sternly. "Nobody asked you... but you may feel free to express your gratitude." "Yes Madam," Carol whispered, the smile on her face lighting up the room. Her body shivered with bliss as she gave herself over to service. Three minutes later Margo, Kelly and Harry were lying on their backs. Carol had buried her face in Margo's cunt, happily humming as she plunged her tongue in and out. With one hand she was slowly and sensuously stroking Harry towards an orgasm, the other hand had four fingers buried in Kelly's ever-ready cunt while she teased Kelly's clit with her thumb. Kelly and Harry shifted themselves, carefully, closer to Margo and the three of them cuddled as their happy pet performed her magic on them. "It's going to be hell keeping her happy," Kelly said breathlessly. "Oh... torture..." panted Margo. "I wonder how we'll survive," added Harry with a moan. * * * * * "Why don't we invite the rest of the family over for some tub time tonight?" Margo asked later as Carol bathed them in the shower. "Then we can tell them they've been volunteered for the whole 'extended family council' thing." While Karen and Patricia, Eddie and Tamara sounded enthusiastic in their acceptance, Margo couldn't help but notice that Tattie sounded rather distracted... and distressed. "Tattie, mind if we stopped by this afternoon?" "No... no... I mean, yeah, uh, come on ahead..." They arrived at Tattie's to find the house in a complete and total state of disarray, with Tattie and a rather cute brunette who looked to be in her early thirties sitting in the middle of piles of boxes of clothes, books, toys, and electronics equipment. Around the boxes were pieces of new furniture for the boys' rooms that had been delivered and just left sitting in the huge foyer of Tattie's home. Both women looked to be on the edge of tears and were nursing huge cups of coffee, a bottle of Tullamore Dew on the floor between them. "Holy shit, Tattie, what the fuck?" Carol said, looking through the doorways out of the foyer to see the rest of the house was in a similar state. "It was all going so well... then the ratfuck cocksuckers couldn't deliver until Friday, and more stuff started coming in late, and I promised the boys they could come home tomorrow and now Julie and I are just..." "Overwhelmed," the brunette said. "Yeah, fuckin' overwhelmed," Tattie added. Margo turned to Tattie and knelt on the floor beside her. "Tattie darling, why didn't you call and ask for help?" "I just... I didn't... y'all've been through so much..." "Bullshit, you should know better. Now then, you, Julie and Harry will be supervising, soon as the rest of the family gets here, we'll get this place squared away in no time. "Carol, assemble the troops, have Eddie stop by the house and pull the clothes we were wearing yesterday at Nicki's out of the dryer." While they waited the rest of the family was introduced to Julie Elliott, the teacher Tattie had hired to help with Yuri and Vashti. "It's nice to finally meet the rest of you... Tattie's talked about you so often, and of course I knew Margo from years back, but now I have faces to put with those outrageous stories." "Trust us, all the stories are true... unless they make us look good, in which case they're scurrilous lies and slander," Harry said, smiling. It wasn't long at all before Karen, Patricia, Eddie and Tamara arrived and much to the amazement of Tattie and Julie, in only a few hours the majority of the work was done. "You guys are... amazing," Julie stammered. "Nope, not amazing, just very good at following orders," Tamara said with a smile. "You'd already done the hard work by deciding where everything went... you just needed strong backs to get it all there." "That's a load of horseshit," Tattie exclaimed, "y'all're amazin'... we didn't have a clue where half this shit was going. Y'all walked in to a total 'FUBAR'. Now then, where am I takin' y'all to supper?" * * * * * "So there I was," Kelly said as they sat around the table after dinner in the trailer house room at Chez Bubba's, "I'd made it to high school, the big leagues, so to speak. My body'd finally gone from the skinny, gangly stick figure it had been to something that was beginning to resemble a woman more than a Cub Scout-" "There have GOT to be pictures of you in that 'Cub Scout' phase," Eddie said. "Yes and my parents will happily show them to you, I have no doubt... after which I will contemplate killing them," Kelly continued. "And the boys began to be sniff around me... one in particular, Paul Knox, a white boy, the running back for our football team, a junior. He was hunting my cute little freshman butt like I was the last gazelle on the veldt and my dumb ass didn't know any better. I'd gotten used to being a wallflower as far as dating and such, so I really didn't have any experience with pussy hounds. "I finally give in and agreed to go out with him on a Saturday night, lied to my folks about it, said I was going over to a friend's house, and I met him a couple of blocks away from home." "Why do I smell disaster on the wind?" cracked Julie. "Because you're a teacher and you know what animals teenagers are," Kelly said. "We grabbed a quick supper at some burger joint, talked for a bit. I didn't think about it at the time, but there was an undercurrent of unthinking, subtle racism evident throughout the entire conversation. He asked me about my favorite basketball team, seemed a little surprised when I told him I didn't watch basketball, talked a lot about barbeque, wanted to know where we went to get good barbeque, seemed real surprised my mom was a teacher and that my Dad worked with her. But I didn't pay any of it any mind, I was too busy being amazed that I was out on a date with a first-stringer! After we got through eating, we went riding around, he found a place to park and things got interesting. "Now I don't remember what I thought was going to happen on the date, but I know it wasn't having this big ol' boy try to crawl into my pants. He gets grabby, I say 'no', he doesn't listen, I slap his face, he sits back and looks at me. I tell him I'd like to go home and he tells me no one is stopping me but he sure as fuck isn't going to drive me. "Now, growing up Earl Culberson's daughter might have left me unprepared for the realities of high school dating, but it didn't leave me scared of a long walk home. I just knew that unless I was very, very lucky, there'd be little hiding that I'd lied to my folks by the time I got back to the house. "So I hop out of the car and take off and to this boy's credit, not only did he not try to rape me, or hit me back when I slapped him, but he did follow me trying to get me to get back in the car, let him take me home. But by that point, I had a good mad on, and I wasn't in the mood to take a chance on him again. He stayed with me though till I got back into the part of town with streetlights, then he drove off, shaking his head." "Didn't you have a cell phone?" Harry asked. "Yeah but I didn't use it... I still had faint, very fucking faint, hopes that they'd be asleep when I got home and I could sneak in and no one would be the wiser. "It was an hour-and-a-half after I'd said I'd be back from my friend's house when Dad found me walking down the street. They'd already called my friend and knew I wasn't where I'd said I'd be. He started to ask me what happened and I told him it could wait until we got home so I'd only have to tell it once. Otherwise that was the quietest, most tense ride I ever had with my father... until very recently." She smiled. "This whole marriage business kind of set a new standard. "So we get back to the house and after the initial outburst from Mom, everyone calms down and I tell them what happened, everything that happened. When I'm finished, Mom looked at Dad and asked him what he was going to do about it. She was real upset with Paul, evidently thought Dad should go speak to him, speak to his father, beat the shit out of him, I'm not sure what. Dad said he wasn't going to do a damn thing about Paul; I was of course grounded until further notice. Said if Paul'd laid a hand on me after the slap, well, he'd be over there kickin' his ass in a heartbeat, but while Paul was a shithead, he wasn't any worse than any other teenage boy, and better than most in that he hadn't left me on my own until I was in a well-lit part of town. As far as the issue of Paul was concerned, it was Dad's opinion that I'd gotten me into that situation, I'd gotten me out of it and any dealings with Paul in the future were my problem. "Mom wasn't too happy with that, but she allowed that Dad was right. "I figured I'd gotten off lucky until I got to school that Monday and found out I was the subject du jour. Oh, lemme tell ya, I was one hot piece of ass! Why, I was the wildest thing Paul'd ever sank his cock in, damn near more animal than human being. His belt was firmly notched with Kelly Ann Culberson as his latest conquest." "ANN?" Eddie said. "Yes 'Ann', and using my middle name will guarantee you going through life with one testicle... or less," Kelly replied. She continued "I was embarrassed, I was hurt, and I was fucking livid. I sat through my classes the entire day and just fumed. Every time one of my friends saw me and started with the "have you heard what they're saying about you?" it was all I could do not to rip off their heads and shit down their necks... but it wasn't their fault I'd gone out with him, so I restrained myself. "When I got home that afternoon, I didn't say anything to Mom, but when Dad got home I pulled him aside and asked him if he'd be willing to help me deal with Paul... my plan, my responsibility, I just needed a little assistance. "He told me he didn't have a problem in the world helping me and then proceeded to tell me he knew pretty much exactly what Paul was saying... I asked him who told him and he said 'No one... he's a teenaged boy... they're very predictable'. "So the next day at lunchtime he shows up at the school, hands me a bag containing what I'd asked him to get and then sits in the car and waits. I went to the courtyard where most of the student body hung out to eat and made a beeline for Paul. "I walked up close and told him, loudly, 'Paul, I'm sorry for the way I treated you Saturday night, getting you all hot and bothered and then refusing to put out... to help make up for it, I brought you lunch' and I pulled out a huge, hot, and very greasy pork butt sandwich from Rufus', a little barbeque place we frequented. I told him 'I got you barbeque, a pork butt sandwich, since you seemed to think I'd know a lot about barbeque' and then I whipped the top off and ground it into his crotch." "Oh my God," Carol gasped as she laughed. "Hot grease... barbeque sauce..." "Well, not too hot... it had taken awhile to get it from Rufus' to the school and so on, but definitely warm... and LOTS of barbeque sauce, all over the crotch of his pants. "And while he's scooting back on the bench at full speed, trying to get away from this crazy girl, I told him, real loudly, 'This is the only piece of ass you have ever, or will ever, get from me'... and then I stepped back and waited to be taken to the principal's office." "I imagine you didn't have long to wait?" said Tattie. "Nope, pretty quickly both he and I were in there, he told his side of the story, pretty much a complete fabrication. I told Principal Stacy it was a pack of lies, related my version of the events and told him he could talk to any number of students who'd back me up on the trash Paul was spreading around school about what had happened Saturday night. "Well, while football isn't quite the religion in Ohio that it is here in Texas, Stacy still came down on Paul's side, said I was suspended for a week, he was going to have to call my parents and have one of them come get me. I told him to have Mrs. Albrecht, his secretary, go out to visitor parking and get my father; he was sitting in his car waiting. "Once Dad was brought in, Principal Stacy told him the whole sorry story from Paul's side, as Paul had already been sent home to change, and told him that he'd suspended me for a week and that he sincerely hoped that Dad and Mom would punish me as well. "Dad told him they would... starting that very evening. He and Mom were going to punish me by taking me to Rufus' for supper, since my lunch had gone to serve a higher purpose. And he was planning on taking off from work at least some of the days I was suspended so he could punish me with trips to the mall, to the movies, any other similar punishments that the two of us could come up with. He told Stacy that he was convinced that Stacy was, and I quote, 'a goddamn moron' and that if anything retributive happened to me once I was allowed back in school, he was, and I quote again, 'going to visit the wrath of Almighty God and the laws of the state of Ohio and the United States of America' upon any and all involved. "You've all met my father, well, with the exception of you, Julie... I think Principal Stacy pissed himself." "Why not, I damn near did," Eddie exclaimed. "Yes sir, but yours is from laughter," Tamara said. "This is true," Eddie answered. "But if I had Earl threatenin' God's wrath and legal troubles, I definitely wouldn't be laughin' and I might well be makin' a mess in my bree-bree." "Well, Mom was still seventeen kinds of unhappy with me and the whole situation, but over supper that night Dad and I got her to chuckling a little, and by the end of the meal she was laughing about it, having me describe the look on Paul's face for the twentieth time. "When Mr. Stacy oh-so-graciously allowed me to return to school, I heard a little about some of the shit Paul caught because of what I did, but there wasn't much cross-over between our social circles in reality, and after what I'd done there was even less. By the time things calmed down there were new topics of conversation and new gossip galore. "The next year, Paul's senior year, he and I had a class together and we got to know each other a little better... we became, well, not 'friends', more like 'friendly acquaintances' and I finally got to hear what happened to him when his father heard about it... which explained why the lawsuit we were in fear of never manifested. His old man beat the shit out of him. Well, not really, but his family was still firm believers in corporal punishment and so he had his ass lit up like a Christmas tree. And while that might really excite some among us," Kelly said, looking at Carol, "it apparently didn't go over too well with Paul. "And while we were getting to know each other, we discussed the casual racism he'd exhibited several times and I got a better understanding of just how subtly it crept into peoples' subconscious', how he'd learned to think in those terms without ever knowing he was doing so. And how the last term he'd ever think to use to describe himself was 'rascist'... I think talking about it with him was more educational in that regard than any five 'afro-centric' courses in college would've been. He turned out to be a pretty nice guy, overall. "And he did tell me one bit of teasing that warmed the cockles of my little vengeful heart... we saw each other at prom and he asked me for a dance, a slow one, and while we were dancing he told me that with the help of his girlfriend and her folks, his running buddies had set him up... when he showed up at her house to pick her up, there was a twenty-pound ham waiting for him, dressed in a pretty little prom dress. The parents didn't quite understand it, but they got a laugh out of his embarrassment nonetheless. "We exchanged the occasional email while he was at Ohio State and after he was drafted by the Dolphins-" "You're shittin' me... Paul Knox, running back for the Miami Dolphins?" Eddie said. "None other... well, after he was drafted he sent me a couple of pictures of him at the signing party with the big old fake check in the amount of his first year's salary. The only words in the email were the subject line which read "Don't You Wish You'd Said Yes?" "I sent him back pictures of me wearing a Lotus Hunan cap, a tiny fluorescent pink thong and holding a bag of Chinese takeout. The subject line read "Don't You Wish You Hadn't Pushed So Hard?" "I got back a two-word reply. 'You win'." After the laughter died down around the table, Harry asked, "So how did things go that week of suspension?" "Dad was true to his word... he had enough time off accrued and finding someone to cover for him at the school wasn't hard... everybody was looking for overtime and his supervisor was happy to authorize it. That turned out to be the best week I ever spent with my Dad. We saw a couple of movies, did some shopping, but most of it we spent fishing and talking. I think in that week we worked out a lot of the problems that might've arisen during my high school years, just him and me talking about life and growing up and all those kinds of things. Mom and I, we had our talks spread out over my high school years, but Dad and I got the important stuff all handled that one week. "Good thing too, because once he got his teaching certificate he got real busy real fast. Whereas before he was sort of a glorified assistant, filling in here and there, once they could stick him in a classroom he got as busy as a one-armed paper hanger." "I've kind of wondered," Harry said, "you've said your father worked as a correctional officer here in Texas, you were born here, how'd y'all end up in Ohio?" "Well, when Mom had her accident and Dad quit to take care of her, they knew they'd need family to help so we moved up to Ohio to be near Mom's family. Then inertia set in and until the whole 'grandchildren' issue came up, I think they were just as happy there as they would've been here... but now they're looking for teaching positions in this area." "They do know we're not planning on children any time soon, right?" Margo asked. "Oh yeah, we had a little talk about that, reaffirming the fact when I took them to the airport after they met y'all," Kelly replied. "Mom serenely assures me that they'll be ready whenever the grandbabies start coming and in the meantime, they've missed me and they're looking forward to the chance to get to know all of y'all better." "I won't mind... it'll be nice to have parental types around that I actually like," Carol said, smiling. "What about you, Harry? Margo?" "I love your parents, Kelly," Margo replied. "Really warm and wonderful people, once we got past that initial awkwardness." "Me too," Harry added, "although I'm still not sure your father doesn't want to shoot me." "I think he's past that now," Kelly said. "Or at least he's as past it as any father ever is." "Don't worry Harry, once he gets to know you better he'll want to shoot you for a whole new set of reasons," Karen said with a smirk. "Thanks Sappho, from the bottom of my tiny, stone-cold, hate-shriveled heart. So, moving on to subjects that don't involve fathers shooting me, Friday night we're taking Dr. and Mrs. Stallings to Dominique's, Saturday afternoon is the G & P picnic, Sunday we lay about like dead people. Y'all up for coming out with us Friday night, Tattie, Julie?" "While I'd normally be up for a visit to whatever pit of sin and degradation y'all're headed for, I'll have had the boys home for less than a week... I wouldn't feel comfortable about leaving them just yet. What about you, Julie?" "Uh... what's Dominique's?" Oil of Roses Ch. 32 Carol explained. "About five or six years ago, a slave owner named Dominique Duvalier noticed there really wasn't a place in town where those who wanted to be slaves and those who wanted to own slaves could meet and greet. The dominants and submissives, the sadists and masochists – and all mixtures thereof – had several social venues open to them, but for those who were really just more into the whole sex slave or pleasure toy thing, well, there really wasn't anyplace. And there'd been a few mysterious disappearances that nobody was really talking about. "So she sold the business she'd inherited from her father and created one. She originally called it the 'The Slave Block' but that started catching her all kinds of flack with various groups, as you might imagine, so she changed the name. When she started it was a rather open and free-wheeling kind of place, but then there was an AIDS scare when one of the slaves who frequented the place tested positive so she instituted more stringent policies. Now it's very much like when you adopt a pet from the Humane Society. There's paperwork, on both sides. That might throw some visitors off, but she has a very large stable of slaves registered with her that are quite happy about her regs. They see them as not only providing a potential owner with some documentation as to the slave's health and such, but it insures that should anything happen to the slave, there's a place for any official investigation to begin. Usually though, the type that might cause that kind of problem balk at the fingerprinting-" "Excuse me, fingerprinting?" said Eddie. "Oh yeah, fingerprinting. That's part of 'Master' registration. Those looking to 'adopt' are fingerprinted, as well as having their identification examined and information recorded. On the flip side, the health information the potential slaves provide has been checked with calls to the doctors involved and their other background information has been checked by a friend of Dominique's who works as a private investigator and has friends in the police department." "How in the world does she make any money at this?" Harry said. "I'd think she'd be broke inside a month!" "Damn near did put her in bankruptcy... until word started getting around that some of the best live sex shows in the southwest were at her place. For the slaves who registered with her, it became kind of a family thing and they weren't going to let the family business go down the tubes so they did the whole "Let's put on a show!" routine. She quickly had to make it a private club and charge membership so that they could get away with what was happening on stage and now the family has been augmented by a whole new crowd of performers who really get off on being watched. And she's becoming a regular venue for touring sex-related productions as well. Annie Sprinkle has performed there on her last four tours. So with the occasional special event, memberships, the take from the bar, as well as the adoption fees, she makes out okay." "Adoption fees?" Julie said. "Isn't that... what, pandering?" "No, not exactly... she and the slaves registered with her have a perfectly legal client/agent relationship. As their agent, she receives the adoption fee for legitimate management expenses. She's got a very good lawyer who has done her very best to make sure it's as legally above board as it can be. "Still, there are provisions both at the website and the club for donations to help keep the place afloat and I plan on dumping some cash in one or the other." "Did you ever register with her... and if you didn't, why not?" Kelly asked. "The one time when I was Master-less and could have used her services... well, there were reasons I was avoiding the club at that time. One of her regulars and I had some very bad blood between us... literally. And if that little bastard is still there and we run into him Friday night... well, I won't be the one who starts anything..." "Are we likely to have to bail you out of jail?" Harry asked. "If so, I'll go ahead and email Daggett a head's up." "No... I don't think so. That would be bad for Dominique and for my family. I think at worst it'll get a little tense." "Isn't that what Custer said as he rode into Little Big Horn?" Eddie said. "Hmm... sounds interesting," Julie said. "I'll have to see how things are going with the boys and Tattie and get back to you. If you haven't heard from me by Friday around noon, please give me a call over here and check, Margo. I may well have gotten so busy I've forgotten." "Anybody else got any questions?" Carol asked. "Uh yeah... I'd like to know if Kelly still has that little pink thong," Margo said with a leer. * * * * * That evening when they got home, the four of them wandered out to the hot tub, sitting around on the deck naked, waiting for it to heat up. "Harry, did you ever think you could find yourself sitting naked on your back deck, waiting for your hot tub to heat up, with three of the most divine women on the face of the planet, who you just happen to be married to?" Kelly asked. "Wow Kelly, fishing for compliments much?" chuckled Margo. "No honey, I never did... not until recently. I really thought my life would either stay the way it was or end... I suspect I was really hoping for that 'end' result." Harry leaned over and put his hand on Margo's thigh. "I gotta admit, this beats the hell out of ending." "Hello?" someone called from the side of the house. "Hello!" Harry responded. "Karen, is that you?" "Yeah, y'all in back?" "Ahyup, hold on," he said as he started to rise. He sat back down as Carol was already off the deck and headed for the gate. "Carol's coming to the gate." In a moment she was back, followed by Karen and Patricia, who were both already pulling at clothing. "Is that tub ready yet," Karen asked, pulling off her sports bra. "Geez Sappho, just walk in and plop your muscular ass in our tub, why don't ya?" Harry said, smiling. "Thanks, don't mind if I do." Within minutes the six of them were happily soaking in the tub. ."Carol, darlin', make sure you get keys made for everyone in the extended family," Harry said as he enjoyed the subtle stimulation of the jets. "Certainly, my love," Carol replied as she worked on setting the jets up properly for Karen and Patricia. "If I'd have thought about it, I'd have done it already. There was the faint sound of the doorbell ringing inside. "There's something we didn't take into account," Carol said, jumping up and grabbing a towel. "Should have put a another ringer, or a light or something back here to let us know when someone's at the door." She hurried off to answer it. Within a few minutes she returned, carrying the hookah, followed by Eddie, Tamara and a somewhat nervous looking Tattie. "Look at who we found parked out front of the house," Eddie said. "Somebody left us a crazy woman." That snapped Tattie out of her nervousness. "I may be a crazy woman," she said as she eyed the gradually revealed naked form of Eddie, "but at least I am of the genus and species 'homo sapiens', unlike some unshaven genetic throwback to a time when the ignorant ruled the earth." She began to remove her clothes. "And furthermore, Mr. Janak, I'll thank you to remember that when someone of my maturity voluntarily takes on the raising of two abused and emotionally scarred boys, it elevates me-" She paused imperceptibly before continuing to undress by removing her t-shirt and panties. "-to a whole new level of insanity that deserves a far more pithy epithet than 'crazy', so if you're going to toss around such phrases I'll thank you to beg, borrow or steal the creativity required to come up with an appropriate label." And with that she slid her naked form under the water of the hot tub amid laughter at her chastisement of Eddie. Eddie stood by the side of the tub, lip trembling, then scooped up Tamara in his arms and held her like a teddy bear. "My Tamara still loves me!" he cried, then stuck his thumb in his mouth. Everyone continued laughing as the great hairy naked man carried his tiny love into the hot tub. "Have I mentioned recently how nice it is to live close enough to walk over?" Patricia asked. "Isn't it?" Tamara agreed. "Edward and I have a little farther to come but even so, in such a nice old neighborhood with all the trees, lots of shade, we were relatively cool all the way over." "Yeah, beats the hell out of living in the middle of the concrete sea that was the condominium," Karen groused. "Felt like living in a skillet sometimes... come to think of it, felt like living in a skillet about nine months out of the year." "Carol my love, once you get everybody's jets set up, save the settings to memory and put things on a nice, relaxing flow, more of a sore muscles and aching back setting, alright?" Harry said. "Sure thing, won't take long now," she replied before going back into quiet conversation with Eddie as to where the jets were hitting him. Once everyone was happy she saved the settings and then returned the jets to a less titillating arrangement. The four explained the family council and extended family's role in it. No one had any problems with their inclusion in the extended family or on said council. "Y'all are being remarkably clear-headed about this," Tattie said as Carol switched the nozzle and jet arrangements to the more stimulating settings. "Well," Kelly replied, "I'm the most inexperienced one in the marriage, and even I've got enough sense to see that we're going to require some relationship care and maintenance now and then. This council setup is going to be necessary. I mean, I doubt I would've thought of it on my own, or at least not for awhile, but then again I don't have some of the 'road scars' my wives and husband do." "For which all of us are extraordinarily grateful," Margo said. "It's nice to have someone in the relationship who's just carrying around normal human emotional baggage, without having the added 'relationship hell' package as well." "Yeah, I can see how that would be nice," Eddie said. "Of course, to consider Kelly the saner one of y'all, in any respect, is just damned disturbin' to me." "Tamara, darling, be a dear and whap your lover upside his thick ol' head," Kelly said, splashing water their way. "Sorry Kelly, not gonna happen... I love you, you're a precious friend, a sister of sorts... but he's my Edward." "Traitorous bitch... I can see that the bonds of sisterhood have been weakened in you. Tattie, darling, be a dear and whap that big gorilla upside his thick ol' head." "Excuse me, Kelly," the older woman said, "but do I look like an idiot to you? I'm sitting next to him, so close I'm sure that body hair of his could reach out and ensnare me if he wanted it to, mutant throwback that he is. I'm Switzerland in this little conflict, I'm remaining neutral." "I am surrounded by cravens and turncoats. I have no option left but to turn to a weapon of mass destruction... sic' 'im, Karen!" Karen lay back in the hot tub with a blissful smile upon her face and said, "Karen's naughty bits are being delightfully stimulated by titillating jets of water right now, so she can't come to the phone. If you'd like to leave your name and number and a brief message, she'll get back to you as soon as she's feeling MUCH better." "You may have won today, you hairy escapee from the red-assed baboon cage, but I will have my revenge upon you... later..." Kelly said, grinning as she loaded up the pipe. Carol asked "Anyone have their cell phone close?" "Mine should be in my clothes, why?" Tattie asked. "Couple of calls I need to make... thought I'd better do it while I was thinking about it, before I got stoned... but now that I'm pondering the issue more thoroughly, I need to go put on music anyway. Back in a flash." "No my love, if you were running and we only got a glimpse of your gorgeous naked form, it would be a 'flash'... you'll be back in a lust-inducing perambulation," Margo said, giving her a quick kiss before Carol climbed out of the hot tub. Carol turned and asked "Karen, Patricia, Eddy, Tamara... are you interested in doing some shopping for special outfits for Friday night?" After a chorus of assents, she disappeared into the house. Before too much longer, the group in the tub was being serenaded by Dinah Washington from her album 'Back to the Blues' and only a few moments later Carol rejoined them. "We have an appointment tomorrow evening; 8:30 PM at Carmine's. Nicki will be meeting us here so we can go to supper, reservations at Jimmy Claude's at 6, meet here about 5, dress in something light and cool, make sure you're wearing comfortable shoes... sound good?" "I've never even heard of Jimmy Claude's," Harry replied. "You'll love it," Tattie said. "Just walk in prepared to be pleasantly surprised." * * * * * Conversation had waned as people so inclined smoked and everyone felt themselves being gently eased towards first excitation, then orgasm courtesy of Carol's carefully programmed jets. When Eddie neared his, Tamara's head disappeared beneath the water momentarily, as did Carol's when Harry reached the same point. "You know... it's been awhile..." Tattie said, "since I've sat... and just gotten high... and come... in the company... of friends." "I was kinda... worried... when I was... setting the jets," Carol said, "but it was... pretty clear... what I was doing... and you didn't object." "Almost chickened out... then thought... what the hell... but after those... could you turn mine... back to normal?" "Not a problem." "I am at one... with why you call this... the Cum-Master 5000," said Patricia. "If there wasn't one... so close... Karen... we'd be getting one... ourselves." "You're right... we would," Karen agreed, a wide smile plastered across her face. "It is an evil... tool of depravity... and I thank God for it," Margo said. "Of course... we do have to run it... with a slightly higher... level of water treatment-" Kelly said before she gave forth with a prolonged sigh. "Because of all the... biological contamination?" Patricia asked. "No," Kelly continued, "because Eddie... isn't as regular... about bathing... as he should be." "Cute Kelly... real cute," Eddie said. "If I wasn't bathing... regularly... you'd know it." "Oh yeah," Harry said, "he gets funky... he can knock... buzzards off shitwagons." "Now I feel like I'm back in high school," Tattie said. "May I trust you shan't be lighting farts anytime soon?" "Only on special occasions... Tattie darlin'... only on special occasions," Eddie said, grinning like a madman. * * * * * Later, after everyone but Tattie had gone home, and she had called Julie to let her know she was staying over, the four tired, but happy, lovers took a long hot shower together and fell into bed. Margo and Carol curled up together and were out like lights, but Harry and Kelly found themselves awake, staring into each other's eyes. "Hail Arthur, my liege and love... what wrinkles your brow this evening?" "Lady Kay... I have missed you of late. As to what troubles me, I know not myself. Some vague unease lies upon me like a fog that the sun cannot drive away." "Come my most noble love, rest your head between my breasts and find peace." Harry nestled in her arms, his face resting against her chest. "And what has the beautiful Lady Kay awake at this hour?" he asked, his voice somewhat muffled by her body. "The fear that I am not awake but sleeping still, and have yet to wake and find this all but a dream." He put his arm over her, his hand caressing her bottom then moving up to the small of her back and held her tightly against him. "Fear not... it is no dream but as real as the very earth itself. You are here, they are here, I am here and we are all blessed beyond any I know." "My lord, although this may sound strange, thank you so much for being miserable and depressed enough to stop at that tavern where Merlin found you." "To someone else, my lovely Kay, it would perchance sound strange but to me it is an oft-repeated prayer of thanks... as is my thanks for our desire for Chinese food one evening." "My lord, you say the sweetest things." "Only to the sweetest of people, my love." * * * * * In the guest room, Tattie wasn't sleeping. She was worried and knew exactly why. In less than twenty-four hours she was going to be taking charge of two boys with more problems than anyone would wish on their worst enemies. And while she had Julie to help her she was still terrified that it would be more than the two of them could handle. Two lives, already damaged and scarred; Yuri quite probably beyond anyone's ability to help, Vashti as wounded in his own way, just able to pretend that he wasn't... a pretense that Tattie was afraid would shatter someday into a million irreparable pieces. And she'd taken the job to try to heal them. She thought to herself that she must be crazy... or stupid... or both. * * * * * When they awoke in the morning, Tattie was gone and voicemail from her said she'd left about 3 in the morning and had made it home safely. "She's really stressing over adopting those boys," Margo said, "not that I can blame her... that'd be a huge undertaking for anyone, much less someone sixty years old." "Well, if anyone can do it, I have faith that Tattie can," Carol said. "Like Tony used to say, she's got more pure 'gumption' than any two other people I know." After a leisurely breakfast, the four of them sat around the table enjoying their coffee and gentle tinkling of the wind chimes on the back deck. Harry leaned back in his chair and grinned. "Now I know I'm home. Nobody here but the four of us, and a day where we have nothing to do till this evening. Then we have supper and... oh shit! I've got therapy this evening! Therapy with Helen Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays! I wonder if I can reschedule." "Well, first see if she can fit you in earlier today at some point. You don't need to start getting ready for supper until around 4, 4:30," Margo suggested. "No, this is my day with my family... it was bad enough that I had to have a therapy session in the evening... this day is ours." "Yes it is my love," Kelly said, "and as it's all of ours, we're telling you to try and schedule your physical therapy for some time during the day today. Call her now." "Yes ma'am. Is she like this when she's the Queen?" "Oh, I'm much more demanding then, Harry, much more demanding," Kelly replied. * * * * * Natalya Pedachenko had hated her husband with the kind of hatred only twenty years of marriage, or twenty years in a gulag, could produce. For her, she thought with a smile on her face, there had been certain similarities between the two. They had survived the disintegration of the Soviet Union together, left the Russian Republic together, and carved out a place for themselves in the United States together... a place that owed as much to her calculating intellect as to her deceased husband's ruthlessness. "What are you smiling about, Aunt Natalya?" asked the young man at the table with her. Her nephew Boris was still in town after attending the funeral. Soon he would be going back home to Minneapolis where, as he said, 'it got as cold as a Moscow autumn' in the depths of winter. His sophomore year of college awaited him, and a life far away from the one she and Dmitri had made. She smiled at him and said, "Nothing my boy, at least nothing important. Something funny crossed my mind; I cannot even remember what it was." His curiosity fended off, her thoughts returned to the organization she and her husband had built. To do all that they had done didn't require that she love him, it required that she be willing to work with him. One thing growing up in the old Soviet system had taught her... even sucking Satan's cock was preferable to being powerless. Being married to Dmitri Pedachenko was nowhere near as bad as all that... he had his little boys, she had her young men and the payoff was that they were far from powerless. He had still been nekulturny, uncultured, but he had her to open those doors for him. It had been a profitable relationship... until this weak American gangster had upset everything. But even though he struck her as weak, she thought perhaps that this 'Nick Philouma' played more chess than poker, and after recent events she was sure she wouldn't feel too confident facing him across a poker table either. His opening move had been bold, fearless, and expertly planned and executed. To use not only his own personnel, but the U.S. Government, in the case of the Chinese... and disguising of his killers as INS had been a master stroke. Sometimes, he seemed almost Russian... he confused her. Oil of Roses Harry breathed heavily, every breath out a moan. His dick continued to spasm and Carol continued to hold on, rhythmically pinching the nerve knot in time with thrusting in and out of his ass. "There there, honey, that's it. Good job baby. That was a hell of an orgasm. You did good." Harry slowly brought his breathing under some degree of control, although his vision was swimming and he would've had to have laid there and burned to death if the room had been on fire due to the state his legs were in. "What are you talking about" he panted. "All I did was lay there. You did all the work. And speaking of it purely as a physical experience that was the most awe-inspiring orgasm of my life." "Harry, all I did was to manipulate your body. You had to leave your troubles with Angie behind, let go of all your pain and anger, relax and put your total and absolute trust in a woman you'd never met before yesterday. You were laying there, open and vulnerable. It was beautiful. You were beautiful. You are beautiful. But now I need to hit the shower. I'm hoping you don't mind if I fix us a bit of breakfast after I clean up? I haven't eaten since last night and neither have you." "Uh, sure, no problem." "Fine, you just lie there and relax, enjoy the afterglow. I won't be but a minute in the shower, and then I'll head for the kitchen." Harry lay there as she showered, forcing himself to think, forcing himself to examine the situation as rationally and logically as he was capable of. Sure it was spoiling the 'afterglow', but he was running out of time. He thought about what he wanted. * * * * * Carol bustled about the kitchen, finding it not too unreasonably organized for a man living alone. A lot of things she considered essential were stored high in the cabinets which required her to get the stepstool from the pantry, but other than that, Harry seemed to have his kitchen pretty well in hand. She heard the shower turn off upstairs and a few moments later caught a glimpse of Harry, wrapped in a towel, heading for the garage out of the corner of her eye. She was beating the eggs for an omelet when she heard him come in behind her. "Harry, what do you like in your omelets?" "Don't worry about that for a minute, Carol." She turned to look at him. He stood at the center console of the kitchen, looking at a strap of leather that he held in his hands. "You know, Carol, there were so many, many things that Angie requested I give up. I never really thought about it until today, but there were so many. I lost contact with the majority of my friends, I gave up most of my hobbies, I stopped doing a lot of the little things that brought me moments of joy in my life, like stopping at the Pearl on the way home from work every night for a drink." Carol moved across the kitchen, putting her arms around him and hugging him hard. "I know you probably disagree, Harry, but I don't think much of Angie as a person. She really comes across, from your side, granted, as a complete and total raving cunt and I'd gleefully kick her ass if I ever met her. You deserve better." "Carol, she even made me give up my dog. I'd had Chipper for 6 years; all of a sudden I had to ship him off to live with my folks. The bitch wouldn't even let me have a pet." He quickly stepped away from her, putting the leather strap around her neck and snapping it closed. "But I'm going to have a pet now and there's not a goddamned thing she can do about it, is there?" Carol looked up at him, hope reborn in her eyes. "No sir, there isn't." "And there isn't anything Rick can do about it, is there?" "Oh God sir, I hope not." "There isn't, Carol, trust me on that. One day this week a friend of mine and I are going to go get your stuff from Rick's place, and then you'll be free from him forever. Now, can I trust you to go get me the length of chain from the garage?" "Yes sir." "Fine, then go get me the chain." Tears running down her smiling face, she went and retrieved the chain from the garage, skipping on her way back into the kitchen. Harry took the chain and hooked the end into eyelet on the dog collar. "Tonight we'll go get you your own collar, but this will do for now." The length of chain pooled on the floor as he undid the towel from his waist. "Is there a name my pet prefers to be called?" Harry asked. "Baby Girl, normally" Carol responded in a whisper, "or Little Cunt, if I'm being put in my place, sir." "Alright Little Cunt, on your knees." She knelt on the floor and Harry wrapped the chain in his left hand while entwining the fingers of his right hand in the hair on the side of her head. She opened her mouth and moved forward to wrap her lips around his cock but he pulled her head back sharply by her hair. "Little Cunt, did I tell you to move?" "No sir." "Then I guess you'd better not move. Now then, who's mouth is that that I'm about to fuck?" "It's your mouth to do with as you will." Harry stepped forward, his semi-erect cock sliding into her mouth, meeting no resistance as it went partway to the entrance of her throat, beginning to stiffen in the warm, wet and welcoming hole. "Now you may begin." Carol began to suck his dick with a will, her saliva coating it in an instant and oozing down onto his balls. Her arms instinctively went up to grasp the back of his legs, pulling herself closer to him, pressing her body against his, a new pet begging the approval of her owner with every fiber of her being. He tightened his grip on the side of her head and took control of the motion, pulling away and driving back in, fucking her mouth like he would any other orifice, making sure to pull far enough away at a slow enough pace to give her a chance to breath through her nose, then ramming his cock down her again to feel the muscles of her throat working on it, his dick feeling like a small animal being consumed by a python. In a corner of Harry's brain, where rational thought still occasionally occurred, it frightened him somewhat, how easily their rhythms moved to match one another, how little of the awkwardness of new lovers there was between them. He felt in her a series of vibrations, coming in waves, but it felt like humming in her mouth and that was in danger of pushing him over the edge far too quickly. He pushed her away and the meaning of the vibrations became clear. Through the tears in her eyes and the smile on her face, "thank you sir, thank you sir, thank you sir, thank you sir". He considered trying to stop her, but thought better of the idea. Instead he lifted her gently up and over his shoulder and took her to the bedroom, where he placed her down on the bed. Grabbing a clean shirt from his laundry basket, he ripped a sleeve off of it and used the sleeve to tie her hands before her. Still the tears flowed down her face and the litany of "thank you sir" continued. He knelt at the foot of the bed and gazed at her pussy, wet and open before him. "My my, what a pretty little cunt my Little Cunt has" he murmured, scarcely loud enough for her to hear. He moved his face in towards her, the odor of her, delicate and fresh in his nostrils. He licked her lips, and between them, and around them, gathering the dew of her desire in his mouth, tasting what was his, savoring it like the first sip of a fine brandy, before he moved up to her clit. Clearing away the folds of skin from around it, he gently sucked it into his mouth, to in-between his teeth, and then gently licked and even more gently bit, it as it grew more erect with excitement. As she began to thrash he began to move his head in concert with her thrashings, never losing his fragile grip on her, varying the rhythm of his stimulation until she and her excitement were cresting like a wave about every three minutes. He kept the wave from breaking, knowing somehow just when to back off, feeling when to quicken his pace, increase the force. As he continued, he heard her voice become more and more tearful. He paused. "What is it, Baby Girl?" "You know sir, you know" she gasped. "I may know, but I'm asking you to tell me." "Let me come, sir, please let me come" she sobbed. And with that he fastened his mouth once again on her and rode her wave until it broke and the tension flowed out of her with a flood of her juices. Her legs collapsed to the bed and the "thank you sir" litany became almost unrecognizable. Harry shifted her body up on the bed, lifted her legs and slid his cock into her. He was surprised, with the life she had led, that her pussy was as tight as it was, as it fit him snugly and felt like it was meant for him and him alone. "Does my Baby Girl exercise regularly to keep good muscle tone in her pussy?" he asked, whispering into her ear as moved on top of her, her bound hands behind his neck. "Yes sir, she does. Does she please you sir?" "Oh Baby Girl, you please me more than you know." As he gently thrust in and out of her, careful not to rest his weight on her bruised midsection, he continued. "Now then, I want you to know that I will never, ever, beat you as Rick has. You will never have bruises like that again. On the other hand, I adore leaving love bites. I've always enjoyed leaving my mark." "Sir, you may mark me how you wish, and I will be pleased to wear whatever marks you give me." He fastened his mouth on the side of the neck, his strokes shortening as he sucked and bit, feeling her respond with a faster pulsing in her cunt, running his tongue across the skin of his slave's neck. His mind still was running as fast as it could, trying to catch up to the new reality of his life. He'd never considered this kind of relationship before. He'd never imagined that there was a side of his personality that would revel in the owning of another human being the way he reveled in it now. He was now responsible for Carol; he was in charge of her life. He knew, inside, the seriousness of her devotion to her master, the depth of it. He knew, without asking, that the only reason she was leaving Rick was that he had proven himself unworthy of her devotion and obedience. Someday he would ask her how she had gotten involved with him in the first place. "I was hungry sir." "What, Baby Girl?" "I imagine you've been wondering how I ended up with a shit-head like Rick" she gasped out. "My old owner had to move to another city, couldn't afford to take me with him. He offered to set me up with some money to tide me over, but I knew he was tight on cash, so I refused. I couldn't find work that paid for more than a place to stay, and I was hungry. So when Rick came along, I didn't listen to that little voice inside, or, better said, I listened, and ignored it." "Baby Girl, if things, for whatever reason, ever, don't work out for us, I'll make sure you're taken care of until you can find yourself a new owner. I give you my word." The spasms in her cunt became stronger and more erratic and then he found himself riding her as she came, her climax almost bringing him to orgasm in the process. He quickly shifted his thoughts to his last dentist appointment. As she relaxed in the aftershocks of her orgasm, he pulled out and lay beside her. "Baby Girl, do you do anal?" "Sir, oh yes I do anal!" "Little Cunt, don't lie to me. Don't ever lie to me when I ask you a question. I may still go ahead and do something you don't enjoy, or in some other way do as I will in spite of your desires, but don't ever lie to me." "No sir, I would never lie to you. I love being taken in the ass. Not only because of the physical sensations, which I adore, but the psychological aspects. I never, ever, feel so submissive, so controlled, so much a vessel of pleasure as when I'm being ass-fucked. Now, I do generally prefer the chance for a good enema before hand, to clean me out, but I'm feeling relatively empty right now." "That's my Baby Girl, full of romantic pillow talk" He leaned in and kissed her gently, their tongues dancing in and out of each others mouths. He leaned back. "Why don't we wait until we've gotten you an enema rig and you're feeling fresh and clean?" "Yes sir. But sir, I can't help but notice that you haven't come again. May I please take care of that for you sir?" Harry climbed back on top of her, spreading her legs as he went. "Sir" Carol said, gazing up into his eyes with adoration, "if you wish me to bear your child I will, of course, but I just thought I should tell you that I am not on birth control." As Harry began to slide in and out, her talented pussy doing it's best to milk him dry in the shortest possible time, he smiled down at her. "Baby Girl, not to worry. Someday I might take you up on that offer, but for now, guess what else Angie had me give up?" Her legs shot up around his waist, her ankles locking together behind his back and she began to meet his every thrust with her own. He felt his nuts bouncing against her ass but in spite of her softness, they still felt like handballs hitting a wall. He didn't care. There was a contract being written, witnessed and signed between the two of them, a very primal contract of obligations and duties, rights and privileges, responsibilities and liberties. He could sense, as if in the air between them, a great mass of promises, unspoken, but that were being made nonetheless. He bent his head down to her right tit, fastening upon it with desperation, his arms drawing her as close in as he could without pressing against her bruises. As he suckled upon her breast, he felt her rhythms quicken, the spasming of her cunt go to the staccato of orgasm and beyond. She threw her weight to the side, surprising him, rolling him onto his back, her hands still behind his neck. He curled his body up so as not to lose his hold on her breast. She slammed her torso onto his with every up stroke, rocking the two of them back and forth like a child's hobby horse. As her bruised and battered body hit his, he stared up at her, concern gleaming in his eyes. "Sir... Harry," she panted, "don't worry, I'm beyond pain now." Her orgasm continued and she rode it out with her hips alone, her tit mashed into has ever-hungry mouth, her abdomen rising and falling as she fucked him as if her life depended on it. They both felt his orgasm coming. "Sir, would I be punished if I marked you as well?" she cried, in-between shudders. "Probably, but do it anyway" he growled. Her tiny mouth latched on to his neck and as her teeth and tongue began to work, he felt his orgasm rip loose like a fist punching through a wall. Her crotch pulled away slightly so as not to bear down and block the flow of sperm that was already spilling out of him. His eyes, and hers, although neither knew it at the time, rolled back in their heads and their mouths clinched, teeth breaking skin and each other's blood flowing into their mouths. As their orgasms continued they swallowed compulsively and in a re-enactment of a ritual older than the written word, she gave herself to him and he accepted. The great mass of promises was made without words, without thinking, and the contract signing completed. She sank down upon him, collapsing. Harry realized both of them were sobbing and he curled up around her, holding her tenderly and protectively in his arms. "Shush, Baby Girl, it's alright, it's ok, it's alright for both of us now. Shush, relax, you're safe now, you're mine now." She snuggled in, closer than he could imagine, fitting into the hollows and bends of his body as if she was a part of a jigsaw puzzle. As she did so, he felt like he was afloat in a cloud of peace, a feeling he'd not had in a long time. As he listened to her sobs slowly become the steady breaths of sleep, and felt himself on his way to joining her, he put all his worries about the new life he'd begun aside. There'd be more than enough time to think about those later. His last sight as he drifted away was the peaceful sleeping face of his Baby Girl. For now, it was good just to be.