Mastering Charlotte

Chapter 6

Seven Years Ago

Michael

He’s here again, the tall, dark-haired Dom I saw giving Jeannie a hard time….

Not that she didn’t enjoy it….

I’ve not seen him for a few weeks, but he’s there propping up the bar again with a wine glass in his hand.

He’s barely drinking though….

Watching what’s going on….

Might as well say Hi….

I order a beer, then amble across to lean back against the bar nearby and nod a hello to him. He acknowledges it with a tilt of his glass.

“Not seen you for a couple of weeks.”

“No,” he agrees, sipping his wine, “I don’t live in the area. I travel here on business every so often.”

“Oh? Where’s home then?”

He takes a large mouthful of his wine….

Stressful question?

“Wherever I hang my hat, really.”

Odd reply….

Time to break the ice….

I offer my hand. “Michael Summerford.”

He accepts it with a sharp, business-like tug and a brief smile. “James Alexanders.” There’s a short silence; the kind where strangers are angling for a suitable topic of conversation, then “You’re local yourself, then? Here regularly?” he asks

“Me? Oh, yes. Born and bred in the area. And yes, I’m here, or at one of the other clubs two or three times a week.”

His brows arch. “No.… um…. regular girlfriend, then? No Mrs Summerford?”

I shake my head. “No, I like to keep things uncomplicated. My life’s too busy for….” I make air commas with two sets of fingers…. “…. relationships.”

relationships.“How’s that, then? The too busy part?”

too busyIs he actually interested...? Or just being polite?

“I run my own business. It’s building up nicely, but I work every hour God sends to keep it on the rails. You know how it’s been since the Crash.”

He nods. “Oh, yes, I do know. So, what do you….?”

His question is cut off by the arrival of Chloe.

Chloe and I are old friends, in the ‘f**k, have fun and leave it at that.’ sense. And she’s a looker, with a good figure that she keeps in trim by working out hard at the gym. And given that I get the benefits, without ‘complications’, I’m happy for her to use my facilities at the Centre.

“Hi, Michael.” she says, sashaying across the dance-floor, wearing her ‘f**k Me’ smile. “Nice to see you again. Want to play?”

“Oh, I think so. Would you like a drink first?”

“No, I’ve had a couple already. I’m looking for a bit more right now. Or,” she glances at James, “am I interrupting something?”

more“Not at all,” he says, forestalling my attempt to disentangle myself and take up Chloe’s offer without embarrassment, “we were just chatting. Go enjoy yourselves.”

His face very straight, he eye-points me at Chloe.

Very decent of you….

*****

Chloe does rather a good striptease; it’s her speciality and I know she enjoys exhibiting herself as much as I enjoy the show. And of course, whoever’s in the viewing galleries gets the benefit too.

I lie back on the bed, watching her peel off a skin-tight lycra dress to reveal that’s she’s wearing a g-string underneath and no more, unless you want to count her earrings.

Her figure is good, not spectacular, but because she’s fit and toned, she still looks great and with her medium-large t**s, she doesn’t need a bra either. She’s quite dusky-skinned, some variety of South-American I think, and her n*****s are dark and brown against the coffee of her breasts. As she sways and shimmies for me, a crowd is gathering outside the viewing port, enjoying her performance and my c**k is nudging awake.

She’s an uncomplicated soul is Chloe, and I know she doesn’t stand on ceremony, so I stand to quickly strip off, then sit again, patting the bed next to me.

Undulating onto the sheet, she lies on her back, knees slightly parted. The invite is clear, and, I can’t help but notice, she’s giving the audience a view of her p***y. She enjoys an audience does our Chloe.

How to play it….?

I kneel up and across her, straddling her waist, so my shaft’s on offer if she feels like wrapping her mouth around me. I’m sure she will. It’s just a matter of when.

…. spilling over your tongue while you look up at me with those big brown eyes….

She’s colouring up nicely, her skin pinking and sheening with perspiration. And as I play with her n*****s, sucking at one while I pinch at the other with thumb and forefinger, she quivers under me, the tremble in her muscles transmitting through to my thighs.

Time to up the game a bit….

Wonder how wet you are? Let’s find out….

Reaching behind me, I probe between her legs, inching between her labia to her clit. She’s nicely wet, whimpering beautifully as I play with her, flicking with the pad of a finger at her sweet spot. Working her clit with one hand, a n****e with the other, my angle’s a bit awkward, but I know she likes it….

But it’s not quite right, is it….?

…. I sense that I’m not quite hitting the mark with her. She’s enjoying herself, but her arousal’s not ramping up as I’d like.

What’s missing?

“What is it, Chloe? Am I doing something wrong?”

She hesitates.

Yes…. I’m doing something wrong….

“Don’t worry. Tell me. I’ll not be offended. My ego will cope.”

Tell me…. Then I know for next time….

I smile to reassure her. If I’m missing something, I want to know what. “Come on, out with it.”

“I’d like you to be a bit rougher.”

“Rougher? You’ve never asked for that before. I didn’t know you liked….”

“You’re lovely, Michael, but sometimes a girl likes a bit more….” She swallows her words, then, “It’s quite nice to be, um, man-handled a bit.”

man-handledMan-handled?

“You want me to knock you about?”

I’m about to back off. I’m really not comfortable delivering that kind of thing, but as I hover over what to do….

Don’t want to disappoint the girl….

And my c**k aches….

And my c**k ….…. I see that out in the viewing gallery is James. Having watched his performances, I know he has no trouble giving a woman as much heat as she wants. They usually scream their safety words before he gives up.

he heatI bend close by her face, keeping my voice low. “Chloe, how do you feel about having two of us? That guy you just met is out there, and he loves that sort of thing.”

“Two of you?”

Two “Yes, two.”

She smiles and arches. “That’s kind of kinky.” Her words sound as though she’s protesting, but her body language says otherwise.

“Having s*x in front of an audience, and asking a man to rough you up isn’t exactly vanilla.”

She pauses, sucking at her lip then, “Why not? It sounds really sexy.”

I kiss her cheek. “Good Girl. Now, stand up and bend over the bed.... No, this way, I want him to see your ass.”

I look back out at the viewing gallery, picking James out of the crowd. I make a slapping motion over Chloe’s ass and a ‘come hither’ sign to him.”

He glances either way at the gathered audience, then points at himself, the question on his face.

I nod. Yes, you.

Yes, you.As I unlock the door, James strolls in, hands in pockets, a smile playing around his eyes, and I re-bolt the door behind him. He gazes down at Chloe, towering over her. She, her face pressed sideways against the bed, looks back up at him, her expression alternating between curiosity, anticipation and worry.

Wondering if you’ve bitten off more than you can chew?

Perhaps you have….

“Chloe, this is James. James, this is Chloe. I think the two of you would enjoy getting to know each other.”

He stands to look down at her, very casual but every inch the Dom. “Hello, Chloe.” He’s not smiling, exactly, but there’s a softness around his eyes. “Nice to meet you.” And now, in this situation, I notice the deep, rich tone of his voice; the kind that makes women wet in their panties.

“Hello, nice to meet you too…. Sir.”

His eyes briefly meet with mine, then he sits beside her, stroking her displayed butt. “What are your safe-words, Chloe?”

Straight to the point….

“May I use yellow and red, Sir?”

“Ideal.” He’s looking her over. “Show me yourself, Chloe.”

“Show myself?”

“Yes, show me yourself. We’ve not met before and, while you have a very nice ass, I’d like a better look at you. You were showing everyone a few minutes ago. Now… show me…. on your knees. We both want to see you.”

meShe rolls over, kneeling up on the bed and looking a little uncertain, but a flush is rising over her skin again, and she’s sweating. She cups her breasts, playing with the n*****s, which crinkle and pebble.

As she performs, James stands, checking out one of the wall-racks, and extracts a flogger from the choice available. Leather-made, the tresses are soft and velvety, and in the hands of someone who knows what he’s doing can deliver anything from a love-kiss to a lashing.

Chloe glances at him, nervously….

This is what she wanted….

He trails the flogger tails over her shoulders and she shivers, pausing.

“Did I tell you to stop?”

“No, Sir”

“Then carry on.”

She resumes her work on her n*****s. James glances towards me, raising a questioning brow.

“Lower,” I say.

“You heard him, Chloe. Michael wants to see more. Start working your clit.”

She’s dripping with sweat now, her lips parted, and as James draws the soft tresses along her spine, her pupils widen. But her fingers glide to the vee of her thighs, sliding inward.

Jeez….

Fuck, I’m gonna shoot if I’m not careful….

…. Get some f*****g self-control, Man….

“Open your lips with one hand,” instructs James. “Play with your clit with the other. We want to see what you’re doing.”

I’m getting a little uneasy on my feet. James glances towards me, then briefly down to where my c**k is straining. His lips twitch as his eyes flash back to mine.

He flicks at the girl with the flogger, frisking it over her spine. Clearly, it doesn’t hurt her….

He does know what he’s doing with that thing….

…. and she shudders, whimpering.

“Down on the floor, Chloe; on your knees.”

Without a word, she obeys him, kneeling down on the thick floor mat.

Do I want her to kneel for me?

No, not really….

But f**k, it’s hot watching him make her do it….

He meets my eyes again, knotting his hand into her hair. “My friend here wants his c**k sucked. Let me see that mouth of yours doing its job.” He pushes her face towards me as I offer her my c**k. I really, really want to put it somewhere….

put My shaft twitching as her lips part, she laps her tongue around the head, licking at the ridge. Locking eyes with James, he sucks in a smile as he watches her, before she takes my cockhead fully into her mouth and I fling my head back, eyes closed, hands clasped behind my neck, lost in the sheer pleasure of having a beautiful woman kneeling for me and giving head.

Should I let go? Watch her swallow?

No, don’t come yet…. She comes first.

I open my eyes again at James" voice. “On all fours now, Chloe. Let us both at you.” Compliantly, she falls from her kneeling position onto her hands, but slowly, taking me with her as I drop to the floor too, James still with his hand in her hair, controlling her.

“Michael, do you want to go any deeper?” he asks, his tone as though Chloe isn’t present to listen or have any say.

“No, I’m fine.”

What would he have done if I’d said yes…?

He continues to trail the falls of the flogger over her skin. It’s still a caress, a kiss of her skin with the suede-like leather, but there’s something in his eyes that tells me that’s about to change. His eyes meet mine again; only for a second, but he’s holding his whip-hand back, warning me of what’s coming. Hastily, I pull out from between Chloe’s teeth.

“Ass up, Chloe,” he says. “Head down.”

He flicks the tails at her butt. It can"t possibly hurt her, again a lick rather than a lash; a warning only, but her eyes fling wide and she gasps. He follows up with another stroke, harder this time as it streaks across her skin. She whimpers, but still she arches and presents herself.

Now James brings it across her hard. She yells and trembles, but still doesn"t try to pull away. Scarlet stripes line her previously creamy ass and her p***y is glistening, a trickle running inside her thighs. James pauses, eye-pointing me downwards and I sit on the floor beside her, reaching in from the front to play with her clit as, her head flung back, she moans and wails.

James reaches into his pocket, pulls out a packet and, ripping the foil in his teeth, pulls his c**k from his straining pants. Fitting the condom, he drops to his knees between her legs, roughly pushing her feet further apart, and plunges deep in.

Leaning into her, he pumps her hard as I work her clit. Her build-up to c****x is unmistakable and as she ramps up her arousal, her howls grow louder.

And she comes, her face and shoulders dropping to the mat as she screams and struggles. James is gripping her hard by her still upraised ass, and I work her clit until she finally screams ‘Yellow!”

My own c**k straining, I don"t want to wait any longer. Her mouth is still open as she yells and thrashes through her o****m. I stand, pull her up at the shoulders again to kneel upright in front of me, and shove inside.

It’s sheer heaven. Her wails are muffled as I push the ridge of my c**k head back and forth over the wet heat of her lips and tongue. I’m going to blow quickly.

James is close too, kneeling upright behind her as he f***s her from behind. His eyes move between his own c**k pumping her, and mine in her mouth. Our eyes meet and he grins, and uncontrollably, so do I.

His eyes squeezing closed, with a groan, he bends forward, his hands resting on her back as he shudders into her. Only a moment or two later, I spurt and spill, shooting a salvo over her tongue and then another over her face as I pull away a little to let her breathe and swallow. And I get a final slug into the back of her mouth as she takes me again, sucking hard.

Gasping, I pull free. James is doing the same, grabbing a roll of tissue and wiping the sweat from his face. He tosses it down to Chloe and me, then sits on the bed, trying to zip himself up.

I join him, pulling her up and to me by the shoulders, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Chloe. That was great.”

“Anytime, Michael. That was fantastic. And thanks too, um, James, is it?”

He nods, not smiling at her, but his eyes are crinkled. “Yes, James.”

“It"s a shower, and a beer for me,” I say. “Want to join us, Chloe?”

“No, thanks,” she says. “I’ve got the boyfriend out there. He’ll be wanting his turn now.”

Sure enough, there’s a man waving to her from the viewing galleries. “You should have said. He could have joined us.”

“No, he just likes to watch me get fucked.”

“Fair enough. Another time then?”

“My pleasure.” she grins, collecting her clothes together and pulling them on.

As she leaves, I turn to James. “Fancy that beer?”

“Sounds good,” he says, swiping a hand through his hair. “Shower first though, I think.”

“How about a shower and a swim?”

“They’ve got a pool here?”

“No, not here.”

*****

James

We stroll in through the front entrance of a large sports and leisure centre. The entrance lobby is heaving with people.

heaving“Just one sec,” says Michael. “I’ll do a quick check that I’m not needed anywhere.” He walks across to a door signed ‘Private. Staff Only’, sticks his head through and after a few seconds returns. “Nope, everything’s fine.”

He looks around at the mass of people around us. “It’s late night opening tonight, being Friday, but the doors will be closing in half an hour. Do you feel like a sauna first? The pool will be a lot pleasanter when the crowds have moved on.”

“Good idea.”

“The changing rooms are over there,” he points. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

In the changing rooms, I strip to a towel and am looking around for the saunas when Michael reappears with a couple of cans. “Nothing better than a cold beer with hot steam.” he grins. “One of Scandinavia’s great contributions to civilisation.”

The sauna’s real, with hot coals and a water bucket with a ladle. And as the steam hisses and splutters, the cold beer slides down like the proverbial nectar.

“This is your business then?” I ask. “You own it?”

“Well, kind of.” he shrugs, then smiles disarmingly. “I look after it for the bank. You know how it is.…”

“Of course; still you look to be doing okay. It’s pretty crowded out there.”

He becomes more animated. “I get plenty of custom, plain footfall past the door and signed up clients, gym memberships and suchlike. I’ve put in a lot of work, but,” he shrugs, “I’d really like to expand. The building next door is for sale, but you know how it is getting finance from the banks these days.”

“Oh, yes. I know about that too.”

I look around at the throng of customers: young men, working out and displaying tribal tattoos down their calves, skinny kids in swimming costumes, teenage girls showing off sprouting figures and middle-aged women trying to slim down over-blown bodies.

Is he this busy all the time?

And he can’t get finance?

*****

We sit across from each other over a vinyl-topped cafe table, with a coffee apiece, looking down over a swimming pool.

“So, um….” starts Michael, “Have you done that before?”

I pause to choose my words, then settle for keeping it simple. “Which part?”

“The ‘sharing’ part. I can see perfectly well that you’ve had plenty of practice at the rest of it.”

I suck in a smile. “In fact, no I haven’t.”

“Mmm.” He swirls his coffee around the cup. “Feel like doing it again sometime?”

“Yes, I rather think I do.”

“Mmm.” The coffee gets another swirl, then, “I can see what you enjoy, the whole Dom thing, and why you would enjoy it. But it always amazes me that they like it, the women.”

why“Not all do, but I don"t get many complaints.” Now I swirl my coffee. “And what do you like?”

youHe grins. “Women.”

I snort a laugh. “Yeah, I get that.”

“So, what brings you to the City?” he asks. “You said you don’t live here? You just visit? Are you a travelling salesman or something?”

“Not exactly. I’m a consultant engineer. There’s a huge project coming up here in a few years’ time, the City renovation. I’m trying to get my foot in the door early.”

“And how do you do that?”

“By making myself useful and available. When they start putting out tenders for the work, I want them to think of my name. It’s a long shot, and it’s long-term; it could take years, but if it works, the payoff will be huge.”

“Good luck to you then.” He tips his coffee at me in a small toast.

“Thanks. So, tell me about this expansion you want to do?”

youHe stares ruefully into his plastic cup. “Like I said, the building next door’s up for sale. If I bought it, I could open extra facilities; squash courts, extra halls for training classes, you know to sort of thing, yoga, dancing, even some of the cosmetic stuff; hairdressers, nail extensions, beauticians…. All the luxury extras that people blow their spare cash on. There’s a big demand in the area for space and facilities, but I can’t meet that demand. I’m forever getting inquiries about using the facilities I’ve already got from clubs and schools, sometimes even the big hotels who want to offer a package to their guests. It’s only a matter of time before someone else comes along and sets up as competition, then I’ll have lost the chance.”

Here we go….

“As it happens, I’ve got some cash lying around that’s earning nothing where it is. If you’re interested in having an investor, we could talk about it.”

He looks at me over his mug, his expression flat. “James, I’m not talking about a few hundred or even a few thousand. Have you seen the price of property around here?”

“Yes, I have. I’ve occasionally looked at buying an apartment in the City, given my long-term plans, so I have a very good idea of how much you’re talking about.”

He stares at me. “And that’s the kind of cash you’ve got ‘lying around’?”

“It’s supposed to be my pension, but it’s doing f**k-all in the fund it’s in. And I’m not planning on retiring anytime soon. I enjoy what I do far too much.”

“Right…. Gotcha….” He sucks in his cheeks, thinking.

“Let me put it this way,” I say. “If I put up the cash to buy the building, can you afford to fit it out?”

“Oh, yes. That’s no problem at all. I’ve got a lot of stuff in the basement that I’ve picked up from auctions and bankrupt stock over the years; equipment, fittings, furnishings….”

“Waiting for better times?”

“Exactly. The building work’s minimal and it’s already got decent electrics and plumbing. It’s a refitting job, not a complete refurb.”

“Have you got audited accounts for your business to date? Projections? Costs? Business plan?”

“Of course I have. Um…. do you want to talk about this now? Or have something to eat and we’ll do it back at mine?”

As I look around, several pairs of staff eyes are watching us. “Yes, I think somewhere more private would be a good idea?”

*****

Back at Michael’s apartment he turns the key and waves me in. “Make yourself at home,” he says. “Sorry it’s a bit small, but there’s only me and I like it that way.”

“No visiting girlfriends?”

He sniffs. “Just the family occasionally. I like to keep my strings untied, and the apartment not looking as though I’m trying to invite anyone into my life. I use the clubs and keep it…. informal.”

We send out for takeaway. I leave Michael to tap at a keyboard, bringing up his accounts while I pay the delivery boy. Returning, I find him ‘Hmmming’ over the screen. “It’s up to date to the end of last month,” he says. “You know your way around the software?”

HmmmingI take a quick look at the screen. “Yup, I use it myself for my own book-keeping.”

He waves me onto the chair. “Help yourself then. If you want to query anything, I’ll be in the middle of the prawn crackers over there.”

The accounts are straightforward enough. It’s not as though I have to check out stock lists or turnover. What is completely clear is a healthy pattern of growing numbers of clients, money reinvested as capital equipment and a lack of unnecessary borrowing.

“You’ve never been overdrawn?”

“I spend money I have. Not money I don’t have. I don’t mind paying out on a mortgage, but I’m blowed if I’m paying the kind of fees they demand on bank charges and overdrafts.”

“Yes, sensible enough.”

After an hour, I sit back, considering. He looks worried. “Hey, if you’ve any doubts about any of that, I’ve got all the till rolls, receipts, everything.”

“No, I’m not worried at all. It looks good to me. On the strength of what I’ve seen, if you’d like to do it, in principle, I’m happy to invest. We can discuss detailed terms separately.”

“Hey, that’s great.” He hesitates. “There’s just one thing to clear up before we get down to brass tacks… sorry, two things.”

“Which are…?”

He holds up a finger. “One, if I am able to pay you off early, I have the option to do so?”

“Fine, no problem.”

“And two…. You don’t want to be involved in the management, do you? Have you any experience in…?”

“No and no. I’m an engineer, not a manager. I have zero interest in the day to day running of the business. That’s your job.”

zero“Good.” He offers me his hand and we shake, then “You know, I’ve got a bottle of malt I was saving for an occasion like this.”

*****