Bound, p.11
Bound, page 11
Eddy’s cock was throbbing as he undressed. It had been fully engorged most of the day. Just being around Corinne affected him in a strongly visceral way. While adrenaline and arousal had raced through his body, he’d been hard most of the day. When she’d chosen to sit next to him, it had taken every ounce of self-control not to, at the very least, pull her into his lap to breathe in her scent. An aroma which he’d been able to discern had an increasing note of arousal in it. He liked thinking that she wanted him too.
He stripped and entered the bath, turning on the water to let it heat up. He grinned, imagining that Holmes was going to enjoy his shower far more than he was. Once he’d removed the jeans Rachel had purchased for him yesterday, his unruly cock sprang free. He’d wondered if he’d have the same physical abilities, especially in matters of sex, as Sage had described in her books. It would appear he had.
Knowing he would be coming through the Veil with literally only the clothes on his back, Rachel had done a bit of shopping for him, so he’d have something to wear. Holmes really had found himself the most wonderful woman, and Eddy had hoped he would be so lucky. He’d found her; he just needed to convince her that they were right for each other.
Stepping into the hot, steamy shower, Eddy realized that as hot and wet as it was, he was planning on getting Corinne even hotter and wetter. He shook his head, reminding himself there were larger, more important things to think about than fucking Corinne, but at the moment his hard cock couldn’t think of a single one.
The idea of not only getting inside Corinne and hearing her call out his name as she came, but of building a life with her, made everything else pale in comparison. Somehow the idea of fighting off a demon and re-sealing a portal into another dimension just seemed like an insignificant roadblock if it meant a future with Corinne was on the other side.
Sage had written him as a loner, but she had been wrong. It wasn’t that Eddy liked being isolated; it was just that a lot of what he did was better off done without anyone hanging around. He longed to have what his friends had—a sexy partnership with a woman who shared his life in all ways.
A part of Eddy wanted to grab Corinne by the hand and run away with her—far from whatever was coming through that gateway. But he knew neither of them could ever abandon their friends, and they each had a part to play in the upcoming battle. His cock argued that if they were going to die, they at least ought to do it after having fucked each other silly. Eddy couldn’t disagree with his cock.
Stepping under the shower, Eddy allowed himself the luxury of indulging all of his senses—the feel of the heat, the sensation of the hot water rolling down his body, the smell of the shampoo as he opened it and used it in his hair. Then he opened the bottle of shower gel and used the large sea sponge to cleanse his body. It felt amazing. His cock throbbed as if to remind him that it had never had real pussy and it wanted it now—and not just any pussy, but Corinne’s.
He turned the water to cold to rinse off, hoping the sudden change in temperature would shock his body into behaving. It was a complete and utter failure. Instead of withering up and seeking the warmth of his body cavity, the damn thing got stiffer and began to drip a bit of pre-cum. He wondered if he ought to somehow mark this day as the first time he got off in the real world.
Eddy wrapped his hand around his stiff shaft and began to stroke. He was finding that all the sensations he’d enjoyed on the other side of the Veil felt intensified on this side. He took long, even strokes from the bulbous head back to where that body part joined his body. While it felt good, he was quite certain it would be far more pleasurable when it was Corinne’s pussy squeezing along his whole length. He idly wondered if Roark knew about Sage’s obsession with large cocks.
He closed his eyes and imagined having Corinne beneath him. He would get her completely aroused, maybe even letting her come, before settling himself between her legs and driving his shaft deep inside her. It was easy to fantasize that it was her sheath contracting all around him, fighting to keep him inside when he took control, dragging his cock almost all the way out before plunging back inside. He would make her come several times before finally burying himself all the way to his hilt and pumping her full until he had no more to give her. He stroked himself faster and harder until his whole body stiffened, and he came, covering his fist with his warm semen and allowing the water to wash it away.
Eddy turned the water back from cold to warm and finished up before turning it off completely, getting out and using the soft, fluffy towels to dry off. He luxuriated in the feel of the cloth as it ran across his naked flesh, removing all the excess water. Checking his face in the mirror, he decided to forego shaving as he rather liked the sexy, disheveled image staring back at him.
Humming a jaunty little tune from his nonexistent childhood, Eddy got dressed. He had to admit Holmes’ wife had excellent taste in men’s clothing. He grinned thinking about Holmes telling him that Rachel herself had favored dowdy clothing before they met. He had been laughing when he relayed the story of how Anne had completely obliterated her wardrobe, told him she was going to spend lots of his money, and taken Rachel shopping. Fortunately, Corinne had already been subjected to the Anne Watson makeover. And if she could transfer her skills with her friends to clients on their wedding day, her bespoke wedding gown business was going to be a smashing success.
Having finished dressing, Eddy ran down the stairs to answer the door, hollering over his shoulder that Holmes didn’t need to hurry. If the look on his friend’s face had been any indication, DSI Holmes would not have wanted to be rushed. Eddy wasn’t the least bit surprised when it was Corinne at the door.
Chapter 15
She looked glorious—not at all like a woman who had spent the day unpacking and getting settled into her new flat. She had on patterned black leggings and a baggy sweater in a deep cinnamon color that complimented them. He liked the way that while the sweater was loose-fitting, it seemed to cling lightly to her curves, and the deep V-neck offered a tantalizing view to someone tall enough to enjoy it. If he looked down, he could easily see the valley between her tits, as well as the slight swell of the side of the breasts that formed it.
“Am I early? No one else seems to be here,” she said by way of greeting.
“Holmes and Rachel are upstairs; I’m sure the others will be along any time. I’m not overly familiar with the house yet, but I’ll bet we can find the kitchen and the bar. What do you say we help ourselves?”
Corinne held up a small brown bag with twisted raffia handles. “I come bearing gifts. There’s the most wonderful cheese shop by my house, and I couldn’t resist. All kinds of creamy, gooey goodness. They had crackers as well.”
Eddy wanted to give her creamy, gooey goodness but it had nothing to do with cheese. He forced himself to put those thoughts on hold. Their time would come, he was sure of it. They made their way back to the kitchen, put together a passable cheese tray, grabbed a couple of long-neck microbrews and went into the sitting room.
“I love these old Georgian places, but this isn’t what I expected, and yet it is,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“When I look through magazines, they’re always so formal and elegant. This has the elegance of the architecture, but the furniture and furnishings are more casual, and you can imagine feeling comfortable here and having a place to put your feet up.”
Eddy looked around; she was right. “I’d never thought about that, but I can see what you’re saying. The pictures of similar townhouses are stiff and lovely to look at, but it’s hard to imagine actually living there. Everything about this place that I’ve seen so far speaks to comfort and livability. I think it’s one of the things I liked about your place—it’s easy to imagine wanting to spend a lot of time there.”
“Would you like to spend time there… with me, I mean?” she said a frown, marring the perfection of her face.
Eddy placed the cheese tray on the low table in front of the couch, and taking the bottles from her hand, he set them down beside the tray. Then he gazed into her eyes, with a smile. “Very much so.”
Her countenance brightened. “Oh good. I’d like that too.”
She sat down on the couch, drawing her legs and feet up underneath her and seemed happy when he settled in next to her. He twisted off the top of her microbrew and handed her the bottle before doing the same to his. They tipped their bottles to one another in a mock salute, and each took a long sip.
“That’s good,” she sighed.
“Yes. Far better than when I used to do it in the book.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I first became sentient, I experienced things that happened in the book, but what I’m finding on this side of the Veil is that those feelings and sensations are greatly intensified.”
“It makes me sad to think you only got to experience a kind of half-life in the book.”
“Only for the past year or so. Before then I wasn’t aware of anything, so even the mildest of sensations was an improvement. I had some time to adjust to that before coming through the Veil and experiencing everything at full strength. I wonder if it wasn’t almost painful for the others.”
“Why did you choose to remain behind?” she asked.
“At first, because I didn’t have a clue how to change it. Remember, Roark pierced the Veil to save Sage. We’re still not sure how Spense and Holmes found themselves on this side. Luckily for Spense, he didn’t emerge as described in the books.”
“How was he described?”
“Not as handsome as he is now.”
“Oh, dear. I’m sure Saoirse is glad he looks the way he does, although in all honesty I’m not sure it would really matter, other than she very much enjoys the physical side of their relationship.”
“Yes, I would say that all three of my friends’ wives enjoy the pleasure provided to them by their husbands. I know for a fact their husbands enjoy that part of their marriages immensely.” He shook his head.
“What?” she asked.
“As you know, the men in Sage’s books are very sexual. In fact, Roark was a bit of a manwhore. Each book featured a new woman for him to save, spank and fuck.”
“I know. It’s part of the allure of those books… so much sexy, spanking fun.”
“But even though the books have remained the same, Roark himself is a far different man than the character he was or that Clive is. He is deeply in love with Sage, and I think there’s a part of him that wishes he had behaved differently before he came to life.”
“He shouldn’t. For one thing, it was before he knew Sage. For another, he was a fictional character in the books. And last, she should have nothing to complain about. After all, she created him.”
“That’s very true.” Switching the subject, he turned to the topic that intrigued him most—the beautiful woman seated beside him. “I know you were born in Cornwall. Did your legacy bring you to London?”
“No,” Corinne answered. “I came up here to attend college, fell in love with the city and decided to get my doctorate. My family had disowned my aunt when I was a child, and my mother was furious when she found out my aunt had reached out to me and that I was visiting with her.”
He took another sip of beer, watching her. “That must have made it difficult for you.”
“Not really. I mean, I was at that stage in my life where you kind of want to rebel and this was a really safe, fun way to do it. My aunt was a lot of fun and when she wanted me to learn to use the weapons, it just seemed like a quirky request. But it was fun and a great form of exercise. It wasn’t until she was dying that she told me the real reason why. The funny thing is, given the way my mother talked about her, I was surprised that my aunt never said a word against her. At the end, she did say that my mother held my aunt responsible for their mother’s death. I’m not exactly sure why, and my mother won’t discuss it at all. My aunt’s funeral was rather sad.”
“Aren’t all funerals inherently sad?”
Corinne snagged a piece of cheese and a cracker, munching while she thought. “Actually, I’ve been to several that were truly a celebration of someone’s life, but there was only one other person at my aunt’s. It bothered me a lot when I realized that if what she said was true, mine would be the same way.”
“I disagree. You have a lot of friends who would miss you and would want to say goodbye.”
“I feel better about that now. I understand now the choices she made, and unlike me, she didn’t have anyone to share what she knew with, much less a group of people who were willing to stand with her.”
“I’m glad you realize you are no longer alone and that your aunt carried a heavy burden.”
Corinne sighed softly. “She really did. And I’m trying hard not to resent my family’s letting her do that by herself.”
“I don’t think you can blame them,” he said gently, taking her hand in his. “They either didn’t understand or didn’t believe, and she may not have felt as though she wanted to burden them as well.”
“Could be. I just wish I’d been more supportive, taken more time to listen and learn. I know how much easier it has been for me to think about it now that it’s out in the open with all of you. And by the way, my secret now sounds almost normal compared to the rest of you.”
Eddy grinned. “Oui. We are a most curious group. It almost sounds like the start of a bad joke—a witch, a dead queen and four guys from out of a book walked into a bar…”
“Don’t finish that,” said Watson from behind them as he and Anne walked in from the back. “I can tell you for a fact that her majesty here felt anything but dead a little bit ago.”
Anne rapped Watson’s head from behind as she walked past him. “Honestly, Gabe, there are times I can’t take you anywhere.”
Watson grabbed his wife, wrapping her in his arms and pulling her close. “I only speak the truth, my beautiful queen.”
Anne wound her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. “You were pretty spectacular yourself,” she purred.
As far as Eddy was concerned, Henry VIII had been a complete and utter fool. Within short order, they were joined by not only Rachel and Holmes, but Saoirse, Spense, Roark and Sage as well
“How are you feeling?” Anne asked Eddy. “I know when I first came through the Veil, it was a kind of sensory overload combined with exhaustion.”
“I seem to be able to keep the exhaustion at bay, and so far the sensory experience has all been of the good kind. Besides, I think had I waited, I would have been trapped.”
“That was weird,” said Gabe. “Could you see what was holding onto you?”
“Not really. I had the feeling that it was vaguely human, but not completely. There were fingers, but they felt more skeletal than fleshy. And there were only three fingers and a thumb-like appendage. I couldn’t see it at all, but when I smashed it with my foot, the face felt smooshed in… the features not as distinct as a human skull.”
“That doesn’t sound good. Do you know where it came from or why it wanted to stop you?” asked Rachel.
“We think that whatever is planning to come through the clock face is pulling power from other dimensions. I think it sent that thing to stop me. My area had been collapsing—getting smaller and smaller. I knew I either needed to go or I would be trapped.”
“Do you think it wanted the information on the laptop?” asked Corinne.
“Interesting question,” Eddy mused. “I don’t know that it wanted it for its own edification, but I do think it didn’t want me to get through the Veil with it.”
“You’re a triple threat to it,” said Saoirse. “You’re the one most likely to be able to dig up information that we can use, and you are a master archer.”
“That’s only two things; you said triple threat,” commented Corinne.
“Aye. I think they also know he’s your protector.”
“My what?”
“Your protector. I did some digging this afternoon and made a few phone calls. The Sentinel of the Portal has been in existence long before Big Ben or the lions. And we were wrong about why the Clock Tower was built. It wasn’t built by the powers of Light. Morgan Le Fay was behind it. She means to open the door between the two realms to set her most powerful minions free. She means to remake the world in her image. She’s been resting and gathering power.”
“We’re talking about King Arthur’s half-sister, right?” asked Gabe.
“Half-sister, lover, high-priestess, sorceress—you name it, she’s had it attached to her. One of the few consistent things about her is that in the end, she was instrumental in Arthur’s death and in trapping Merlin in the crystal cave. He’s never been able to escape completely, but over the millennia, he’s been able to use astral projection to escape through cracks in the crystal for brief interludes to thwart some of her schemes.”
As the others murmured in surprise, Corinne leaned in closer, eager to learn more of her heritage and calling. She urged Saoirse to explain further, and the Irish witch obliged.
“Did you know that originally the clock faces of Big Ben weren’t supposed to have any protective glass?” Saoirse asked. “Something that big might have been able to focus enough light to keep the demons at bay. Every time they tried to lift a clock face up, it shattered. So Merlin designed an intricate, decorative pattern of cut pieces to enclose the different faces. They’ve been able to focus enough light to keep the portal closed, but this time Morgan Le Fay waited and gathered enough power.”
“Why would she want the clock tower built to begin with?” asked Corinne.
“Most likely to concentrate the lack of light. She’s tried to open the portal a couple of times and has wreaked havoc on London. The Great Fire of 1666—please note the 666 or number of the beast which comes up in a great many religions; the Black Plague beginning in 1665 and ending in 1666. There have even been those who thought the Aberfan Mine Disaster in 1966—again 66 and 9 flipped around is 6—might be part of the pattern. And there are at least another fifteen to twenty instances of battles, mass executions or other natural disasters that could well have been Morgan trying to break free.”
