A Touch of Autumn (6 page)

Opening the bathroom cabinet, she hunted for a scissors or a blade.  She would hack herself out of the corset if necessary. A frustrating search of the shelves revealed nothing that she could use. Her hand brushed a bottle of moisturizer and it clattered noisily onto the floor, striking the towel rail as it fell. Damn. Damn. Damn. That was all she needed. She was wrecking the place.

She perched on the edge of the bath again, letting the steam waft around her, and finally the tears fell.

The door opened and closed again, but she refused to acknowledge him.  Niall sat on the edge of the bath beside her and pulled her against him, smoothing her damp hair with his big hands.  “Please don’t cry.”

“I’m not crying over you.”  Sinead sniffed inelegantly. “So don’t get any ideas.”

“I won’t.”

“And I don’t care who you… you know… with.” She sniffed again.

The soothing strokes stopped and he cupped one hand beneath her chin and raised her face to him. “Well, I care.  That’s why I usually send Andy on jobs like this.”

“Oh!”  Sinead couldn’t have spoken another word if her life depended on it.

He brushed his thumb along her jaw. “The only woman I want tonight is you.  And when this is over, we need to talk.”

Sinead nodded.  They were going to talk.  She didn’t know what that meant yet or what the future would hold for them, but they were going to talk.  Her heart lightened and then it dropped like a stone when she remembered what he was asking her to do.  Sell Niall.  Give him to the princess. She would rather strangle her with the cords from her corset.

“You know I can’t do this without you tonight,” Niall said. “Can you handle it?”

She knew from his bleak expression that he was troubled. He was asking a lot from her. She would be jealous as hell if she saw another woman laying a hand on him, but she would never admit it to him.  Not in a million years.  A man’s life and career were at stake. 
Killy could lose custody of his children if Samara released those photographs to the press.  She had no choice.

Sinead forced a smile. “I can do it.  Now, get me out of this bloody corset.”

“That would be my pleasure.” 

He untied her quickly and efficiently, and Sinead sighed with relief. Maybe she was wrong about his talents as a lady’s maid.

After a quick shower together they returned to the bedroom where Andy was waiting impatiently. “I’m glad to see you two have made up, but this time you really need to listen to me. Whatever you’re planning with Samara is going to be more complicated than you think.”

“What do you mean?” Niall asked.

“While you pair were lolling around in luxury up here, I was downstairs in the servants’ quarters – the best place for gossip.”

He winked at Sinead and she remembered the conversation she had overheard earlier that morning.  Surely he wasn’t suggesting…

“Half-drowned or not, if you don’t spit it out soon I may be forced to hurt you,” Niall said impatiently.

Andy snorted with laughter.  “I wouldn’t do that just yet. Samara is into threesomes.”

Niall stood at alert as Sinead knocked on the door of Samara’s room. She had sent a message down to the princess at the ball, telling her that she was willing to sell him, and neither of them had been surprised when the princess sent a message back agreeing.

Samara was reclining on a chaise longue when one of her servants opened the door. She was still in her exotic costume, down to the curly-toed slippers which Andy had spotted. His second-in-command’s stiffness behind him confirmed that Andy recognized them.

“Come in,” she purred, her voice, combined with her indolent posture, reminding Niall of a pampered cat. He told himself that even the most luxury loving felines still had claws and the ability to use them.

Samara stretched, arching her back so as to emphasize her remarkable breasts and tiny waist.

Niall heard Sinead suck in her breath. She wasn’t happy about any of this, but it was the only way to save
Killy.

Samara rose from her chaise longue and came towards them. She greeted Sinead graciously, but her eyes were on Niall. She allowed her gaze to travel the length of him, an easy journey as he was dressed in just a loincloth. He resisted the urge to cover himself as her stare stopped at his crotch and lingered there.

Then her eyes narrowed as she spotted Andy behind him. “Who is this?”

Sinead gestured Andy to step forward. “This is my other slave,” Sinead said smoothly. “I know you said you were interested in Niall, but he and Andy work so well together, it seems a shame to break them up.”

Damn it, she made it sound like… Niall flicked a quick glare at her, but held his tongue. The Princess didn’t notice, she was too busy examining Andy.

From experience, Niall knew that Andy had the sort of body that women adored. It made him one of the company’s best operatives. Like him, Andy was dressed in a loincloth. It revealed his lean body and defined stomach muscles. Unlike Niall, he hadn’t been man-
scaped and a narrow strip of hair ran down his chest, disappearing into the loincloth.

It looked like the princess was no exception. Her expression was filled with greed as she looked from one to the other and she licked her lips.

“I think I would need to try them both out before I decide,” she said.

Sinead managed to hold her composure, though Niall felt the fury vibrating through her. She was not happy about the Princess trying him out. He had to concentrate on the job at hand, but he hugged the information to himself. When he had time, he would take it out and examine it and deal with it. He was not going to let it go.

Samara turned and nodded to the bodyguards standing behind her.  One of them bent down and spoke to her. Niall couldn’t make out what was said, but he could guess. Sure enough, Samara said, “You won’t mind if I have the two of them searched, do you?”

Sinead looked her in the eye. “You think they are hiding something in their loincloths?” She shrugged. “Feel free.”

Niall managed to contain his fury as he was searched professionally and thoroughly. Andy had suggested that one of them smuggle a camera into the Princess’s suite. Luckily Niall had decided against it. He gritted his teeth when the bodyguard’s hands delved into his inadequate clothes. “Enjoying your work a little too much?” he said.

The bodyguard glared at him, but turned to the princess. “He’s clean.”

“So is this one,” the guard searching Andy said.

“This is a gesture of friendship,” Sinead said, allowing a trace of annoyance to sound in her voice. “I’m insulted you need to search them.”

“My apologies, Madame,” Samara said. “In my position, one cannot be too careful. I’m sure you can appreciate that.”

Sinead nodded her head. She still wore what Andy had called her wench outfit, a loose linen shift and a short corset over it. Her only jewelry was a pair of dangling earrings, so her décolletage was bare. One of the bodyguards leered as he gave her a quick once over.

“Well, are you interested or not?” she glared at Samara.

“Very much so. I can’t wait for a test run.” The Princess’s eyes gleamed with anticipation. She gestured her bodyguards to the back of the room.

“Do they have to be here?” Sinead asked. Her outrage was genuine. “If you’re not interested, then please say so and we’ll end this. I’ve had plenty of offers from other Mistresses.”

Niall cast his eyes down to conceal his admiration at her sass.  Most of his female operatives would have balked and run right about now, but Sinead was as cool as a cucumber. Samara was clearly taken aback at being challenged.

“They do.” Samara regained control. “My protection comes first. But they are very discreet.”

Damn it. Niall fought against the urge to curse. He had been counting on having the princess alone and keeping her occupied while Sinead searched. So much for his hopes of doing things the easy way.

Sinead had appeared on stage numerous times, but nothing was as terrifying as this performance.  This was way outside her comfort zone.

She risked a glance at Niall, but he was playing the sulky submissive to the hilt. Andy, however, was another matter.   He was obviously very comfortable in his own skin and she had a sneaking suspicion that the presence of the bodyguards hadn’t fazed him at all.

“So,” Samara strolled slowly around Niall, as if she was inspecting a particularly fine specimen of horseflesh.  “Give me a run through.”

A run through. Oh
feck.  Sinead didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. Think.Think. If she was buying Niall, what would the princess want to know?

“Well, he’s in perfect physical condition, as you can see. But he is
coeliac, so you need to watch out for his diet.”

The Princess nodded and Sinead continued. “And he’s stubborn.”

She saw Niall grimace at that and she moved swiftly on. “In bed he’s…”

How could she describe Niall as a lover?  Sexy, powerful, dominant, with the stamina of a stallion at stud? There was no way that she was telling the princess that. She faltered and then continued quickly, “He’s forceful, but obedient once you’ve shown him who’s in charge.”

Sinead thought she caught a flicker of disappointment in Samara’s eyes, but the princess masked it quickly. What the hell was going on?

“I see,” the princess mused, running an appreciative hand along Niall’s upper arm. “Anything else?”

“Not that I can think off, offhand.”  You are the worst saleswoman in the world, Sinead O’Sullivan.

Their plan wouldn’t work unless she was able to convince Samara to buy them. Everything depended on her, but all she could think about was that she didn’t want the princess laying a jeweled finger on him.

Samara dismissed Niall and turned her attention to Andy. “And this one?”

Andy’s attention was entirely focused on Samara and he didn’t look the slightest bit submissive.

Niall had said that Andy was a womanizing flirt. She only hoped that he would behave himself. “Well, as you can see he’s…”

“Not a submissive,” Andy finished the sentence for her, with a wicked gleam in his eyes that he didn’t bother to disguise. Without asking permission, he picked up Samara’s hand and kissed it.

“Captain Andrew Campbell-McTavish, formerly of the Irish Rangers, at your service. I’m one hundred percent dominant, but willing to switch for the right lady. Alas, I haven’t found her yet.”

Sinead bit her lip, trying to hide a grin.  The hint of an Irish lilt in Andy’s accent was stronger than usual, and there was no way that the princess would fall for his Celtic charm.

Samara moved to pull her hand out of his grasp but Andy held on, slowly releasing it with obvious reluctance.  In fact, Sinead thought she caught the ghost of a smile around the princess’s mouth at his audacity.

“You say they work together….” the princess asked, her attention still on Andy.

Sinead caught Niall’s warning look.   If the princess thought for one moment that Niall and Andy were hetero-flexible, she was in for a big dollop of disappointment.

“As bodyguards only,” Sinead told her.  “They take very good care of their mistress.”

The princess nodded and Sinead rushed on. “But I’m afraid there’s been some jealousy between them, and you know pets.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes theatrically.  “I travel a lot and I can’t keep both of them, but it seems such a shame to split them up.”

“I understand,” the princess said. Her voice was a little throatier than before. “I have some experience of handling difficult situations like this.”

Samara returned to her chaise longue and resumed her seat, kicking off her silk pumps and resting her feet on the couch.  “Perhaps I could…”

Sinead sensed Niall’s tension.  He was determined to fulfill this mission for Killy, but his obvious reluctance gave her hope.

“It would be a pleasure, my lady.”  Andy stepped forward, shrugging off his loin cloth as he went.

Sinead knew she should have averted her eyes from his naked butt, especially as Niall was glaring at her.  But her inner imp was fascinated.  Andy was mesmerizing, and it had nothing to do with his rugged body, or the symmetry of his face.  He had an indefinable something that…

“Camera,” Niall said in a low undertone.

Sinead fiddled with the back of the elaborate earring that Andy had fitted before they left the bedroom. Maybe she didn’t have to watch this, maybe she could shut her eyes and—

“Sinead.”

She glared at Niall as she took her seat at the couch opposite Samara and Andy.  He didn’t have to remind her. Niall had brought her into this in the first place.

The princess dragged her attention away from Andy and beckoned to Niall.

The smile froze on Sinead’s face as he approached the princess.  A manicured hand stroked his face and the princess tugged his hair, dragging his face closer to hers.

A sick feeling churned in the bottom of Sinead’s stomach and welled upwards.  She was not going to be sick.  She was going to kill the bitch if she touched her man again. Instead, she forced a bored expression onto her face and stretched back in her chair as if she was preparing to enjoy the show.

Sinead had never been involved in the kink scene before this weekend and she wasn’t sure if she ever wanted to be again. How could people bear to watch someone they cared about being touched by another person? Sinead watched as they stared at each other, their faces only inches apart. 

How would it feel like to be in control of another person, to know that they would submit to your will, that their sole desire was to please you? 

Sinead couldn’t see the expression on Niall’s face, but it must have been convincing enough for the princess to believe that he would submit to her.

“Kiss me,” Samara commanded.

Jealousy flared like acid in Sinead’s gut as she watched Niall bend his head to kiss the other woman.

Samara gave a throaty murmur of pleasure and leaned back into Andy’s arms. Even though Sinead knew that Niall was holding back, it didn’t stop her mounting rage. Sinead dug her nails into the silk cushion beside her as she watched the men caress the other woman. She wanted to kill something.  If she had her way, one oil-rich kingdom would be minus a member of its royal family.

She only hoped that the compromising pictures of the princess being recorded in the tiny camera inside her ear-ring would be enough to save Killy.

“My turn,” Andy said.  In a smooth move, the men changed places.  Sinead watched, fascinated, as Andy removed the rest of Samara’s costume and Niall’s role in the scene was reduced to little more than a prop.

Samara rested against Niall’s chest while Andy took charge. And he was very much in charge.  Within seconds, the flimsy costume was around her waist, her breasts bared to Andy’s practiced caresses. Her breathless sighs were audible in the silent room. Her head lolled back, and she squirmed, her throaty cries encouraging his ever bolder advances.

A fine sheen of oil gleamed on Andy’s back. He had insisted on it before they came here, and Sinead could see why. On camera, it would look like the sweat of an amorous lover.

As Samara writhed against Niall like a cat in heat, his expression became decidedly more uncomfortable. His caresses were limited to Samara’s shoulders and upper arms.

Andy had no such scruples. He kissed and caressed his leisurely way down her body and paused when he encountered a silken thong.

Sinead closed her eyes, she might have to sit here and record this but she didn’t have to watch.

“My lady.” The sound of Andy’s voice made Sinead’s eyes fly open. “I’d give anything to finish this right now, but you’re too beautiful to share.”

Sinead was almost as startled as Samara.

The princess’s perplexed expression softened when Andy caressed her jaw in a gesture that bordered on the possessive. He nodded at Niall. “We don’t need him here. Trust me to take care of you. I know exactly what you want.”

The startled expression on Samara’s face faded as Andy continued to stroke her.

Sinead noticed that he never broke eye-contact with her . She had seen the same intensity on the face of one of the horse trainers on the O’Sullivan holding - a man who could handle any horse.