Stately Pleasures Read online

  ‘She’s doing well, isn’t she, Ethan?’

  Alice rolled her head forward and opened her eyes so she could watch the exchange between the two men. Looking at them, a fresh burst of lust coursed through her veins. They had more clothes on than she did – Jeremy was fully clothed, in fact – which made her total nudity feel all the more erotic, but both still looked eminently sexual. Ethan’s dimples appeared, and the look in Jeremy’s eyes would have turned any straight woman – and probably some lesbians too – into a gibbering wreck. She was just lucky she was already sitting down, and that her hands were tied, or else she’d have reached out to them. She tangled her fingers together and squeezed, trying hard to distract herself from the sights and sensations that were slowly pushing her up the slope towards climax.

  After a beat, Ethan replied. ‘She’s doing very well, mate. Do you think it’s time to up the ante?’

  Alice stared at them, horrified. They wouldn’t, surely? The things Ethan was doing with his fingers were hot enough, never mind Jeremy adding more fuel to her fire by playing with her too.

  Both men looked at her, grinning. She was unable to respond. She didn’t know how to. If she protested, they’d probably just tease her all the more. But she certainly wasn’t going to welcome it. So she kept her face straight and took deep breaths to try and keep herself calm. Well, as calm as a woman could be with one man playing with her pussy and the other touching every other exposed inch of skin.

  Jeremy nodded. ‘Yes. Let’s up the ante. Look at her. She wants it. If she bites her lip any harder she’s going to draw blood.’

  Alice heard his words, but she couldn’t understand his meaning. Yes, of course she wanted to come, but she was biting her lip to stop herself. They’d told her she wasn’t allowed to, for fuck’s sake! What the hell?

  As one, the two men pleasured her quivering body once more. Ethan’s long fingers curved up to her G-spot, stimulating it as well as her clit. Alice squeezed her eyes closed and started thinking about unpleasant things – it was the only way she was going to get through this without gushing all over his hand. She chivvied herself on, convincing herself that the most powerful sexual organ in her body was her brain, and if it didn’t want her to come, then she wouldn’t.

  Jeremy pinched and pulled at her nipples, then he stood and bent so his mouth was level with her bare shoulders. He peppered gentle kisses over her skin, surprising her with the occasional nip. Moving his lips up her neck, then behind her ear, he was so close she could smell him; a mixture of fresh sweat and some expensive aftershave.

  He murmured in her ear. ‘Do you want to come?’

  It was an idiotic question, but Alice wasn’t sure how to answer it. Then she realised that because it was an idiotic question, there was no point in lying. She’d just make things worse for herself.

  ‘Yes, please.’ She put particular emphasis on the last word, almost begging.

  ‘Ethan,’ he said, without turning his head, ‘Alice wants to come.’

  His friend’s reply was instant. ‘I know damn well she does. She’s absolutely soaking wet and so damn hot. I just want to fuck her.’

  ‘Well, you can’t fuck her just yet. But you can make her come.’

  Alice met Ethan’s eyes. She tried to send a silent message with her gaze, but realised even if that was possible, she’d be giving mixed messages, anyway. She wanted to come, but she didn’t, at the same time. It didn’t matter, anyway. Ethan was playing the game; on Jeremy’s side.

  He pulled his thumb away from her clit, and Alice almost heaved a sigh of relief. That was, until Ethan bent his head and closed his lips around the distended flesh and sucked. She couldn’t help herself – she yowled, wringing a dry laugh from Jeremy’s lips.

  Ethan licked and sucked at her swollen clit, his hair brushing against the skin of her thighs and pubis, adding an extra layer of sensation. This was it, she thought. She was absolutely done for. Never in a million years could she hold out against this kind of sexual onslaught, and Alice wondered why she’d ever thought she could. Any minute now – even with her brain screaming out in protest – she would come. And it would all be over.

  Any … minute … now. So … fucking … close.

  The words in her ear were so unexpected that she jumped.

  ‘It’s OK, Alice,’ Jeremy said, quietly, but still loud enough for Ethan to hear, ‘you can come. You’ve earned it.’

  The words had barely left his mouth when her climax hit her. It was like walking into a wall of water; it crashed into her with such intensity. Once again, she was glad she was tied to the chair, or she’d probably have wriggled herself right off it. Only her bindings and Ethan’s steady hands on her thighs kept her – relatively – still.

  Jeremy’s permission had been like opening a door, with all her feelings flying out. She’d gone from a still, quiet woman teetering on the edge of orgasm but desperate to avoid it, to a wailing, spasming, highly passionate minx.

  And, as she slowly came back to herself, her heart rate and breathing slowing, the contractions in her pussy waning, she opened her eyes and looked at the two men. They remained, frozen, in the positions they’d held when she started to come, and stared at her. As she flicked her gaze from one pair of eyes to the other, she realised just how much Jeremy and Ethan had liked what they’d seen. Their gazes were dark, dangerous, and hungry.

  Somehow Alice knew that her climax wouldn’t be the only one she’d have that night.

  Chapter Ten

  Life went on as normal in Davenport Manor for a while. Or, at least, as normal as things could be when the owner and the head of security liked to play kinky sex games with the property manager. The three of them continued with their rotas, watched TV and films some evenings, exchanged books, talked and acted like good friends living together. Except for the intense sexual undercurrent that simmered there all the time; when they were eating, lounging in the sitting room, working, everything.

  It confused Alice. It was clear to her – though she still couldn’t quite believe it – that the two men were attracted to her. And the feeling was mutual. She’d hardly ever masturbated before getting this job and moving into the Manor, but now it seemed that the saying was true: the more sex you have, the more sex you want. That, coupled with the fact that Jeremy and Ethan’s rooms were just down the corridor, had Alice shoving her hand between her legs on many occasions as she fantasised about them showering, dressing, stroking their cocks …

  Other than the time with Ethan in her old place, she’d never had sex with either guy “just because”. It was always linked with a challenge somehow, and she found that bizarre. Didn’t free agents who fancied each other usually have sex? There was nothing at all stopping them. But then it occurred to her that maybe something was stopping them. Her. Gorgeous as Jeremy and Ethan were, all men – or at least the ones who weren’t so arrogant that you wouldn’t want them anyway – had their insecurities. So perhaps they were under the impression that the whole thing was purely a business transaction of sorts for her. That she was simply doing her job during the day and spending occasional evenings doing whatever they wanted her to do, because it was their arrangement.

  Maybe it hadn’t occurred to them that she’d quite happily fuck, suck, lick, massage, and do any other erotic thing a person could think of, with or to both of them. Repeatedly. Challenges or no challenges. The more she thought about it, the more she believed she was right. They thought she was just in it for the glowing reference and Jeremy’s contacts. She was, of course. But it was so much more than that too.

  It seemed that if she wanted more than just task-related sex, she was going to have to ask for it. Which was all well and good for women with lots of self-confidence, but Alice had never come on to a man in her life, except perhaps in her younger days when she used to go out on the town. But back then it was the alcohol giving her false confidence, and more often than not, she’d been blown out, anyway. Men just didn’t want big girls. Or at least, they n
ever used to.

  It seemed society was changing; skinny women were starting to be vilified just as much as big ones once were. It was great that plus-sized girls were gaining acceptance, but Alice hated the fact that it was at the expense of thin girls. Not all of them went on silly diets and made themselves ill just to look how they thought the press wanted them to. Some of them were just naturally slim. Some models and celebrities admitted to eating lots to try and gain weight, to no avail.

  Alice thought that the press should just butt out, or launch a campaign on how all women were beautiful, no matter what their size. She knew for sure that just as women liked different types of men, it worked in reverse too. Guys had varied tastes; some absolutely adored Rubenesque women.

  That thought gave Alice pause. If some guys liked big girls, then why couldn’t Jeremy and Ethan? Just because they were both super-sexy and could have any woman they wanted? She had no idea what sort of girls they’d hooked up with in the past, but there was no denying the fact that when they played with her, both of them had erections. And unless they were popping Viagra, then they were genuine.

  She smiled to herself. They did want her. The physical evidence was overwhelming. But it didn’t change the fact that she was not the sort of woman to proposition a guy, much less two of them.

  Maybe she’d write them a note, or something. She’d figure it out.

  It turned out she didn’t have to. Not that evening, anyway. She’d been thinking about the situation as she walked through the house, closing it up for the evening. On her way back to her office to tidy up, Jeremy found her.

  ‘Alice,’ he said, smiling. ‘Are you all finished?’

  ‘Um, sort of. I still have to tidy my office –’

  ‘Ugh, never mind that. It’ll keep until tomorrow morning, won’t it?’

  She nodded. It wasn’t that untidy, anyway. Just a few things that needed to be put away. But it could wait.

  ‘Excellent. Now, could you come with me to the library, please?’

  He turned and headed in the direction of the library, and she followed without a word. It had been a rhetorical question, really. He knew damn well that she wouldn’t have said no.

  When they arrived, Alice saw Ethan was already there, waiting for them. He grinned at her by way of greeting, and she smiled back, shyly.

  Jeremy turned to her, and she blushed a little under the gazes of both men. Particularly since those gazes held such promise. Hopefully of delights to come.

  It was then she thought about how much things had changed. At the beginning, when all the challenge stuff started, she’d seen it as a chore. Something to be endured, with her eyes firmly on the prize. But the more time she’d spent with both men, the more she’d enjoyed herself; both sexually and socially.

  Her heart sank as she realised what it meant. The whole situation had become about much more than just sex for her. She wouldn’t go so far as to say she loved Jeremy and Ethan – not to mention the fact that it was impossible to be in love with two people at once – but she was incredibly fond of them. And not in the brotherly sense. Although she knew the men were fond of her too, she had no illusions about the fact that when her challenges were complete and her employment contract was finished, she’d walk away and be nothing more than a pleasant memory to them. She would have to do something about it, shove her emotions into a dark cupboard in her brain and lock it. Multiple times. Then pile a load of boxes in front of it for good measure.

  The last thing she needed was to walk away from Davenport Manor with a broken heart. No, she was determined that she would have the same attitude as the men – she’d simply see their time together as fun, and would have lovely memories to keep her warm on cold nights. Not to mention some serious wank fodder.

  Her decision made, she looked enquiringly from one man to the other, wondering what was going to happen next. They were both still looking at her with amused expressions.

  ‘What?’ Alice said, instinctively bringing her hand to her cheek. ‘Do I have something on my face, or something?’ She swiped at her skin.

  Grabbing her wrist, Jeremy pulled it away gently. ‘No, Alice. You’re as perfect as ever. Stop fretting. It’s just that you’re so bloody cute when you start daydreaming like that. You do it quite a lot. You get a little line between your eyebrows which makes you look like you’re trying to work something out, and a dreamy expression other times. I’m guessing that’s when you’re thinking of something nice.’

  Alice disentangled herself from his grip, eager to distract him before he asked what she’d been thinking about. If his assumption was correct, she’d probably had some kind of weird frowny, dreamy expression. ‘So,’ she said, with forced brightness, ‘what do you two buggers have planned for me in here?’

  ‘Well,’ Jeremy replied, seemingly not noticing her diversion tactics, ‘I think you know, don’t you? It’s on the list.’

  Oh yes. The list. She hadn’t looked at it for ages – she’d decided it was kind of pointless. Whatever was on it was going to happen, whether she memorised it or not. And even if she could remember the specifics of each and every task, she never knew when they were going to take place. The list hadn’t included a timeline. So she just went with the flow.

  However, she didn’t want to admit to Jeremy that she hadn’t read his precious list recently. It obviously meant a great deal to him, and she didn’t want to upset or annoy him, so she just smiled and lowered her gaze to the floor. It sort of looked like a yes, but it meant she wasn’t lying. Perhaps just by omission.

  ‘Right,’ Jeremy continued, grabbing Alice’s arm again and guiding her further into the room, ‘take your clothes off and put them on that chair.’

  He indicated the chair in question. Alice nodded and began to undress. Her gaze wandered around the room – her favourite room in Davenport Manor – taking in its size and grandeur. She’d never seen a library so big – except public libraries, of course. But they were purely functional spaces, and often not very attractive. Davenport Manor’s library was sumptuous and beautiful; it was a long room, the entire depth of the house. It was almost as wide as it was long, and the ceilings were very high. It had windows at each end, with window seats, and she often thought about taking a book from one of the many, many shelves and curling up to read it in one of them. She decided she would do just that before her contract expired. Although she was sure the other houses she’d work in throughout her career would have libraries, they’d have to be pretty damn impressive to be a patch on this. So she should make the most of it.

  Now she stood naked before the two men, and resisted the temptation to try and cover herself up. It wouldn’t work, anyway. She’d need two hands to cover her large breasts, and that would leave her neatly trimmed pussy on display. So she stood with her hands by her sides, waiting for the next command.

  It was Ethan who spoke first. ‘Fuck. I’m rock hard already. She’s just stunning, isn’t she? I must confess I’ve been looking forward to this task for some time.’ He rubbed his hands together gleefully.

  Alice remained still and silent.

  ‘She’s being very obedient, isn’t she?’ Jeremy moved over to where she stood and walked around her naked form. ‘Do you think we’ve turned her into a proper little submissive?’

  Alice’s cheeks flamed at his words. How dare he say such things about her? And yet, other than the heat burning across her chest, neck, and cheeks, she made no response. So perhaps he was right – under the care, for want of a more suitable word, of these two handsome, dominant men, she’d turned into some kind of submissive. Sexually, anyway. She’d read enough romance and erotica novels to know a liking for submission didn’t make a woman weak. It just meant they liked to be bossed around in the bedroom. Outside the bedroom, they were usually no different to how they’d always been. You certainly wouldn’t pass a submissive woman on the street, or bump into her into the supermarket, and automatically label her as a bottom.

  If that was what got her go
ing – so what? They were all adults here, and free to do whatever they liked with one another, no strings attached.

  Ethan replied to Jeremy. ‘If we have, the tendency must have been buried there beforehand. It doesn’t just happen overnight. Of course, it could just be that she wants to get this over and done with as soon as possible.’

  ‘Or,’ Jeremy said, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Alice, ‘it could be that she doesn’t want us to delay. She wants to get started with the task as soon as possible. Because she enjoys it. Wants it.’

  He walked over to Alice and slipped his hand between her legs, dipping a finger between her labia. ‘Huh. Seems I was right. All she’s done is take her clothes off, and already she’s getting wet.’

  Ethan stood and walked over to one side of the room, grasping the rolling ladder which reached up to the very top shelves of the library. He manoeuvred it so it was facing the wall, then locked the wheels. He turned and nodded at Jeremy, who took Alice’s arm and led her over to Ethan and the newly secured ladder. Positioning her in front of the ladder, facing its steps, Jeremy pulled the binds they’d used in the dining room – or at least ones that looked the same – from his pocket and handed one to Ethan.

  Between them, they encouraged Alice up the first step of the ladder – mercifully, it was more like a flight of mobile stairs, with flat wooden slats instead of rungs, otherwise it would have hurt her bare feet – then secured her wrists to the handrails. Crooking her neck so she could look under her arm, she could see that she was just a little way off the floor, with her arse pointing out into the room in all its fleshy glory.

  She wondered if she was positioned this way so her bottom was in a good spanking position, but she racked her brain to remember this particular task and couldn’t recall any kind of corporal punishment. She pressed her lips together hard to suppress a smirk – if she couldn’t remember, then there was a good chance that this was a nice, straightforward task with nothing untoward involved at all. Except being naked and bound to some rolling steps in a library, of course. And hopefully being given a good seeing-to.