Promises After Dark (After Dark Book 3) (28 page)

‘Another reason why Andrei wants to cut ties with Mark perhaps?’ murmurs Dominic.

I turn to him, my eyes stinging with tears. ‘You don’t believe that Mark’s guilty of this, do you?’

‘No,’ he says gently. ‘But if what Anna says is true, Mark is going to be involved whether he likes it or not.’

‘So you mean that the only way to stop Andrei destroying Mark is by revealing his criminal activity – and destroying Mark anyway!’ I stare furiously at Dominic.

‘It might not come to that,’ he says.

‘I don’t see how it can’t.’

‘It may be that none of this comes out. It all depends how Andrei reacts when we tell him what we know.’ Dominic’s expression is sympathetic and I can see in his eyes that when we’re alone, he’ll tell me more. He turns to Anna. ‘So you’re committed to this?’

‘Yes,’ she says, with a sudden bright smile. ‘Completely.’

We hear the sound of the doorbell echoing through the hall upstairs.

‘Ah,’ says Dominic. ‘I think that might be your reward. Excuse me, ladies.’ He goes upstairs and returns a few minutes later. As he comes down the stairs, I see that he’s being followed by another man in a dark suit, and a second later the stranger emerges into view and I realise that I recognise him. Just as I’m working out where I’ve seen him before, Anna shrieks.

‘Giovanni!’ She races across the room and jumps into his arms. The monk is startled for a moment and then delighted to find a beautiful woman embracing him. They kiss passionately.

Dominic comes over to me, smiling. ‘And there’s the last piece of the puzzle,’ he says. ‘Now we know how Anna knew all our secrets. The only person I told was Brother Giovanni. It turns out my confessor was busy doing his own confessing. I always knew that Anna wasn’t a one-man woman. She might have wanted me because I refused her favours, but my guess is that a man who’s taken a vow of celibacy was even more of a challenge. She’s happy to see him again, don’t you think?’

I gaze back, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. ‘Oh, Dominic!’

He takes me in his arms and hugs me tight. ‘We’re going to get through this, I promise. All of us.’

Chapter Sixteen

Anna and Giovanni leave soon afterwards, obviously keen to go somewhere private and enjoy their reunion. I wonder if Anna has finally given up on Dominic, or whether she’s simply happy to play a waiting game. I suppose I have to do the same and just put up with her, considering how badly we need her cooperation.

Dominic shuts the front door behind us and locks it. ‘The keys go back to the estate agent tomorrow,’ he says. ‘This isn’t the house for us, is it?’

I look up at him. ‘
Us?
’

He gazes down. ‘I can’t think of a future without you in it. Isn’t that obvious by now? I don’t want to live without you.’

Happiness rises up through me. ‘Really?’ I whisper.

‘Really.’

I can’t say anything as I take this in. I think he’s saying that our lives are inextricably entwined and that we’ll never be apart. The thought is miraculous.

Dominic smiles at my expression. ‘We’ve got lots to talk about. But it’s late. I need to get you home.’ He pulls out his phone and taps out a message. ‘My driver will be here in a minute.’

I watch him for a moment, thinking how much he’s changed since I met him. He’s now a force to be reckoned with, a man with the power to bring down Andrei Dubrovski. I say suddenly, ‘Is Mark going to be all right, Dominic? Can you promise that?’

He takes my hand. ‘I can promise that I won’t let Andrei spread lies and destroy Mark’s reputation. But if what Anna says is true – well . . . I know Mark is innocent but he might have to prove that in court.’ He looks suddenly solemn. ‘All of us who are mixed up with Dubrovski – we’re all tainted. We’re all going to have to explain ourselves. But if we’re honest and sincere, I believe we have nothing to fear.’

The car draws up at the kerbside and Dominic takes me over, opens the door and helps me in.

‘Are you coming?’ I ask.

He shakes his head. ‘I want to take a walk and clear my head. I’ve got a lot to think over. You should get some sleep.’

‘When will I see you?’ I ask, panicked at the idea that we might not be together before I leave for home on Christmas Eve.

‘Tomorrow.’ He smiles. ‘I have something planned. You’ll hear from me then.’

‘Dominic . . .’ I don’t want to, but I have to ask. ‘Anna . . . you . . . don’t . . .?’

He kisses me gently and says, ‘You don’t even need to say it. Of course I don’t. You’re the only one for me.’

I’m grateful to be home, and I sleep deeply that night, worn out by everything that’s happened. I feel safer, knowing that Dominic is leading the charge against Dubrovski, but I still have strange dreams in which Andrei is chasing me, threatening me and telling me that I’ll never escape him – if he’s going down, he’ll take me with him.

After my vivid dreams I’m glad to wake up in the morning in the safety of my own bed. This is the last day before I go home for Christmas and the holidays begin. I wonder if Dominic can get the situation with Andrei sorted before the 2nd of January and the release of the statement.

When I get to work, Caroline is surprised to see me. ‘I thought you were going home today,’ she says. ‘I wasn’t expecting you.’

‘I thought I’d come in and just check things over,’ I say. The truth is that I want to check the files that cover Mark’s dealings with Andrei, just in case there are any clues there. I realise that Caroline looks very downcast. ‘Is everything all right?’

‘Mark’s not well today,’ she says, her expression bleak. ‘He’s running a temperature and he’s very croaky. If he’s no better later, I’m going to take him to the doctor.’ She looks kindly at me. ‘If you’ve nothing more to do, you should leave early, Beth. You could make a start on your Christmas holidays. It’s going to be very quiet here.’

‘Thank you,’ I say gratefully. ‘I might do that.’

I go into the office and start looking through all the files to do with Andrei but as far as I can tell, everything is very straightforward and above board, although, of course, knowing what I now know, it seems extraordinary that Mark has agreed to the system of payment and reimbursement that he and Andrei use.

All the time, I’m waiting for Dominic to contact me. It’s not until after lunch when I’m about to leave that I get a message.

Rosa. You are needed. Your master requires Christmas cheer. Be at the boudoir in one hour.

My breath comes a little faster in anticipation. I long for the escape into pleasure that being with my master will give me. My stomach clenches pleasantly at the thought. If Rosa’s presence is required, I’ll be more than happy to supply it.

I arrive at the boudoir before the hour is up, but I know the value of obedience, so I wait quietly until exactly an hour has passed and then knock at the door.

Dominic opens it and steps back to let me in. The hallway is in darkness and as he closes the door, I blink in the sudden gloom.

‘Go the bedroom, Rosa, and choose what you think will please me. I’ll be there in ten minutes exactly.’

I put down my bag and slip off my coat, and walk across the small hall to the bedroom. Inside, everything is freshly laid out and organised. There is the white leather spanking seat on which Dominic has driven me to such peaks of delight. There is the cabinet with its range of exciting playthings and instruments. There is the closet where Dominic keeps a range of clothes and accessories for me. I can never be quite sure what I will find there. I go over and open the door.

My master requires Christmas cheer. I shall be his own present, to unwrap and enjoy. I take out a bra that doesn’t have cups but instead fastens around my breasts with a big black silk ribbon. A pair of matching knickers is the same but with the bow at the back. I put them on and then put on a red silk robe over the top of that. My eye is caught by a pair of high-heeled boots laced almost all the way to the thigh. Very attractive. I pull them on, grateful for a zip along the side that stops me having to lace them. Then I take up a leather collar and fasten that around my neck – Dominic has always liked to see that as a sign of my submission. Then I sit on the bed and wait for Dominic to come in.

After exactly ten minutes the door opens and Dominic enters. He is smartly dressed in dark pinstriped trousers, a shirt and a tie and a waistcoat. He walks over to a leather armchair placed by the end of the bed and sits down, regarding me with a serious gaze. I notice that he’s holding a glass of champagne.

‘Stand up, Rosa.’

I obey, holding the robe close about me. His gaze travels over me, noting the boots, and he nods. ‘Very nice. Please come here.’

I walk over to him and stand obediently before him, waiting for my next instruction.

‘Sit on my lap.’

I turn around so that my back is to him and lower myself down so that I’m sitting on his knees. I feel his hand stroke the silken back of the robe, then travel upwards and lift my hair so that he can see the collar.

‘That’s good,’ he breathes. ‘I like to see you know your place, Rosa. You like to be humble, don’t you?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Do you like to obey me?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘You’ve been very docile this evening, you’ve done just as I asked with no mistakes. Does that mean no punishment for you?’

‘Whatever you think is right, sir.’

He laughs gently. I press back very slightly into his lap and feel a hardness under my buttocks. As I sit back I can feel it grow and throb beneath me. I stretch out one leg so that he can see the pretty boot and the way it encases my leg all the way up above my knee. His breathing thickens as he notices it.

‘You’re teasing me,’ he says. ‘What else are you going to do?’

Without a word, I stand up, drawing my fingertips over the woollen surface of his trousers. I let the silken robe drop to the floor so that he can see the black silk bow sitting pertly in the middle of my bottom. He laughs again.

‘My little Christmas present. Let me see what delights you’re hiding inside.’ He pulls the bow and it slips apart to reveal my bottom, soft and curved, the white flesh in delightful contrast to the black leather of my boots. He strokes his hand over it, admiring its firm globes. ‘Turn around.’

I turn. He can see my sex, demure for now with a tiny scrap of silk still covering it, my belly and the big black bow over my breasts. He lifts his eyebrows.

‘Another present. Bend down so I can open it.’

I lean forward, my breasts rising before his face in soft mounds. He plucks one end of the ribbon and pulls. My rosy nipples and round breasts are revealed and he makes a growl of appreciation. ‘You look delicious,’ he murmurs. ‘Come closer.’

I bring my breasts up towards his mouth. He takes a sip of champagne from his glass and then puts his mouth over my right nipple. I gasp as the cold liquid submerges my nipple. I can feel the bubbles prickling over the surface, then he sucks hard and swallows. The champagne disappears and he releases me. ‘Delicious,’ he says with a smile. He takes another sip and does the same to the other nipple. Then he dips his finger in his champagne and trails it down my stomach. The cold wetness prickles my skin, and when he reaches the triangle of silk covering my sex, he slides his finger underneath and rubs it over me.

His touch is shiveringly arousing. I can feel a lascivious desire thrumming up inside my clit and in the swell of my sex. He locks eyes with me and sees it in my thoughts.

He reaches down and undoes his trousers, releasing himself so that his erection rears up from his lap. ‘Why don’t you sit down again? Perhaps you’d like to have a drink of champagne.’

I move forward obediently and he sits up, moving forward to the edge of the chair so that I can put my legs on either side of him. I reach down and hold his penis. It’s stiff and hot under my hand. Without a word, I place myself above it, pull the scrap of silk out of the way and sink down slowly, taking it in me in its entirety. Dominic is controlling his breathing as I engulf him, but only just. He lifts his glass of champagne and takes a large mouthful. Then he pulls my head to his and presses his lips on mine. A gush of cool champagne leaves his mouth and floods mine. I take it and drink it, then enjoy the movement of his champagne-flavoured tongue in my mouth. He takes another mouthful of the wine and repeats, letting the fizzing liquid move from him to me. It’s delicious, and intoxicating in more ways than one.

As I drink, I move subtly, clenching my inner muscles so that I grip the hot column inside me. I can feel him growing there, getting thicker and harder as I wriggle very slightly to stimulate him.

‘Are you pleasing yourself, Rosa?’ he asks in a low voice that’s freighted with lust. ‘Is that why you’re wiggling on me like this?’

‘Yes, sir,’ I breathe out.

He looks down at my booted legs on either side of him and the way I’m sitting on his cock. My breasts press out towards him, the rosy hard nipples begging for him, showing him how hot I am. His eyes glitter with desire.

‘Move up and down,’ he orders. I begin to rise and sink, taking my weight on the high heels of my boots and then sliding down his length and pressing as hard as I can on his cock. ‘That’s right. Faster.’