Channel: Private Pleasures Part 10

"A lot of things are changing, Ma," Nora admitted.

"We're going to have to go soon," Margo said.

"I know. You've got a dance at the club," Nora answered. "I like Taylor. I wouldn't mind if you married him."

"We'll see," Margo replied.

"He's very rich, isn't he? I mean, you flew up in his private plane," Nora said.

"He flies the plane himself," Margo told her, "although at his age he has another pilot with us, and yes, dear, he's very rich."

"Wow! Mom, you really surprise me," Nora told her parent with a smile.

Margo laughed. "Thank you," she said. And then she grew serious. "I would have never thought you would be so good about what's happening, Nora. I'm proud of you, darling, and until you get on your feet I will help."

"I'll pay you back one day, Ma," Nora promised.

"Honey, you're going to inherit it anyway," Margo said. "You need it now, and frankly it gives me pleasure to see you make Jeff Buckley's life a little difficult."

"I want the house, Ma! I don't care about anything else, but I want the house," Nora told her mother.

"I'm sure Rick will do his best for you, darling," Margo a.s.sured her.

"Time to go, honeybunch." Taylor Bradford had come to where they were seated. "Car is here, and Hal has the plane ready. We got a nice tailwind, and should be home in no time at all so you can get yourself all gussied up for the dance tonight."

The two women stood up, and Nora put her arms about Taylor Bradford, giving him a big hug. "Thank you for bringing Mom, Taylor. You're welcome in my house anytime." Then she stood on her toes and kissed his ruddy cheek.

"I got two sons, girly," he said. "Wouldn't mind having a daughter like you at all. Even at this late date." And he kissed her cheek heartily.

"Good-bye, darling." Margo kissed Nora, and gave her a quick hug. "Tell J. J. to look in the graduation card I gave him." She turned and kissed Jill. "You did very well under the circ.u.mstances, darling. Grandma was proud."

"I wanted to smack him," Jill admitted.

"So did I," Margo replied.

"Then we both did very well," Jill chuckled.

The guests were gone at last. Carla stayed to help Nora clean up. Jill had gone upstairs to pack. She was taking an early-evening flight back to her college.

"The Channel tonight, you lucky girl." Carla grinned at Nora.

"I don't know," Nora said. "What if J. J. comes home? What does it look like to people on this side of reality when we're on the other?"

Carla shrugged. "I have no idea. But J. J. won't be home until dawn. Our party starts at nine, and when it finally ends they're all going up to the mountain house for a long weekend. No chaperones." She waggled her eyebrows at Nora.

"I had forgotten that they were going up," she said. "Yeah, maybe I could get The Channel tonight. I haven't been able to get there with Jill home."

"Call now," Carla encouraged her. "I'll finish the cleanup. Just a little cake to put away anyhow. I've packed two sandwiches for Jill to have on the plane."

"You are an angel," Nora said, picking up the telephone handset.

J. J. came home to change for Maureen Johnson's party. He had been at his girlfriend Lily's party. Jill was just going out the door to her waiting Ca.s.sandra cab. He hugged her. "So long, big sis. When will I see you again? Before I'm off to State?"

"Not till Christmas, kiddo," Jill told him. "I've got just enough time between finis.h.i.+ng my course and orientation at Duke to pack up and get there."

"Where will you live?" he asked, walking with her to the cab.

"Duke hooked me up with two other girls, and we've rented a house," Jill said. "I've got the money from working and saving almost everything Daddy sent me. No more where that came from. Miss Icy Eyes is going to get it all." She gave him a quick kiss. "Don't screw up, J. J. It will be tempting to party, party, party, but that first semester is important. I've been there. Besides, the whole neighborhood helped get you there. You don't want to disappoint them." She got into the cab. "So long!" She blew him a kiss as the cab revved up and sped off.

"No pressure," J. J. mumbled to himself as he went into the house. "I'm home," he called to his mother.

"I'm upstairs," Nora said, and heard him taking the steps two at a time. He came into his room. "I packed a few things for you for the mountain house," she said. "Why don't you take them over and put them in Mo's car? Or are you riding in Lily's?"

"Lily," he answered, "but Mo'll take my stuff up, and if I toss it in her trunk now, I won't forget. Toothbrush, razor, etc.?"

"Yes," she said.

He sat down on the edge of the bed. "You don't mind being alone this weekend? We probably won't be back till sometime on Monday."

"Actually I'm looking forward to a little peace and quiet," Nora told him. "I've never minded being alone, and I'm going to be in a few weeks when you head off to State. And you're going earlier than most kids because you're on a team, honey."

"Ma, maybe I ought to put off college for a year. Until this thing with Dad gets straightened out," J. J. said.

"You can't do anything to help, honey, and you'll lose your scholars.h.i.+p if you don't go now. It's alright, J. J. Now shower and change before you go, and don't forget your duffel. I'll put it downstairs by the door."

She left him, thinking he was a sweet kid, and so protective of her. She ought to feel guilty for wanting him gone, out of the house, but she didn't. She was through being superwife and supermom. She wanted to be that woman who lived in The Channel. She wanted to be f.u.c.ked in every way imaginable by Kyle, and Rolf, and whomever else she could think up. She wanted to be licked, and she wanted to suck c.o.c.k until she was mindless. And she was no longer shocked by these thoughts.

Smelling of soap, shampoo, and aftershave, J. J. kissed his mom before he left for his party. With a grin at her, he picked up his duffel. "Have a good weekend, Ma," he said as he headed out the door.

"You too, honey," Nora told him, watching as he made his way across the lawn, where even now a crowd of kids was gathering. She shut the door, and threw the bolt. She checked the central AC, and set the thermostat at seventy-two degrees. She went into the kitchen and shoved a small ham-and-cheese into the microwave. When it was done she sat down at her kitchen table, and looked out into her beautiful backyard, and ate her sandwich and drank her lemonade/iced tea mix. As she always did, she put her dishes in the dishwasher and cleaned up the counters. Returning upstairs, she showered and got into a clean nights.h.i.+rt. Then she went downstairs to the den. It was still not quite eight o'clock. Nora sat down in her recliner, and considered. It was still light. Maybe she should wait until after nine. No. The den faced the back of the house. No one was going to see her. The doors and windows were locked. The clock struck eight, and Nora eagerly punched in The Channel. The television clicked on. The dark screen lightened, and there was her apartment. Eagerly Nora reached out and put her palm flat against the screen.

She was here at last! She sighed with relief. Where was Kyle? And then she saw a note propped up on the coffee table. She walked over to it, and read, "Wasn't certain when you would get back. Dial 1, and I'll be right there. Kyle."

Nora picked up her telephone, and pressed one. An automated voice greeted her. "Your message has been received. Kyle will be with you shortly." Then the phone clicked off. Nora walked into the bedroom and shrugged off her shorty robe. She was bored with it now. She opened the closet its full width and stared at the clothing. On one end was a line of slinky negligees in silk and satin, with lace, in luscious colors. She debated which one she would wear, trying to decide between a lavender silk and a pale green silk with lace.

As she stood deep in thought, she was suddenly grabbed from behind, a blindfold tied over her eyes. Her wrists were bound with silk. She was shoved facedown on the bed, her legs pushed apart. She felt a single finger pus.h.i.+ng between her a.s.s cheeks. She could feel it touching her a.n.u.s. Her breath was coming in short pants as she struggled not to panic. No word was spoken by her attacker. The finger rubbed her. It was slick with oil. She couldn't help herself. She squeezed the finger with her b.u.t.t muscles. The finger pressed against her extraordinarily sensitive flesh. She squealed, but the finger went no farther. It just continued to rub at her until she was wiggling with rising excitement. Her ravisher's other hand slipped beneath her, and another finger found its way to her c.l.i.toris. Both fingers rubbed, and stroked, and pressed at her flesh, until she thought she would go mad. Unable to contain herself she hissed, "Do it, d.a.m.nit!"

The finger between her a.s.s cheeks pushed into her a.n.u.s just a single joint's length.

"More!" she pleaded.

The finger sheathed itself fully, and she moaned. "Yes!" Her sphincter muscle tightened about the digit, making it almost impossible for him to withdraw it, but he finally managed to do so, smacking her b.u.t.t as he got free.

"Do not move," Kyle's deep rough voice growled in her ear. "If you try to get away, I'll catch you, and you won't get f.u.c.ked for a month."

She heard him go into the bathroom, the water running in the sink, and then finally he was back. She could smell the soap. He had washed his hands.

"Now, Nora, get your b.u.t.t up," he ordered, and he shoved a pillow beneath her belly.

She felt him behind her, but he entered her v.a.g.i.n.a, much to her relief, and as he pushed forward he made contact with the spot she had never believed existed. The legendary G-spot. Slowly, slowly, very slowly he rubbed it with his hot p.e.n.i.s. Nora thought she was going to explode with the incredible sensations that began to sweep over her. "Oh, my G.o.d!" she gasped. "Oh, my G.o.d!"

He laughed in her ear. "Found it, didn't I?" he gloated. "Now, baby, I'm going to f.u.c.k you until you come, and come and come! Do you know how much I've missed you? I've had a hard-on for almost a week now." He pressed down with his p.e.n.i.s on that sensitive spot, and Nora thought she would dissolve in a puddle of l.u.s.t. Nothing had prepared her for this.

"I couldn't come," she said. "My daughter was home, and she's up half the night."

"Couldn't come?" he teased. "Well, baby, you're going to come now, and a lot later too." He thrust hard now.

"Oh, please, yes, Kyle!" she begged him. "Do it to me, darling! Do it to me!" The slightest movement of his d.i.c.k and the sensations were overwhelming her. One o.r.g.a.s.m after the other came until she was weak. Finally he let his load explode into her, and collapsed atop her for a few minutes. "Untie me," she finally said, and he did. Nora removed the blindfold. "That was very exciting," she said with understatement. "Can we play that game with Rolf one day?"

He grinned weakly at her. "Anything you want, my lady."

"I didn't know I wanted that," she said, referring to their encounter.

"You had a bad day," he said. "I thought it would help."

Nora rolled over, and lay with her head on his chest. "It did, Kyle. I needed to be taken and satisfied like that." She kissed his nipples, licking at them provocatively. "How did you know I'd had a bad day?"

"I always know how it is with you. It's my job, Nora." He put his arm about her.

"You do your job well, darling," she told him.

"I spoke to Mr. Nicholas," he said to her.

"Mr. Nicholas?"

"The administrator of The Channel. He says you may have an appointment with him anytime you want. He says he's looking forward to meeting you."

"Oh." She had forgotten.

"Don't you want to stay in The Channel, Nora? Have you changed your mind now, darling?" Kyle wondered.

"No, but I'm not ready yet. I have to get my son off to college. I have to see what kind of a deal the lawyers can work out between Jeff and me. I can't take my vacation yet. It was sweet of you to speak with Mr. Nicholas, Kyle."

"You really ought to see him soon, Nora. You don't know when you'll need to escape from your reality, and you need to know what will happen if you do, don't you?" Kyle pressured her gently.

"You could be right," Nora considered. "If I need to make a quick getaway, it would help to have his approval, wouldn't it? Can we arrange it now?"

"Why not?" he said, and he reached for the phone. "Mr. Nicholas's office," he said, and then, "Good evening, sir. Nora Buckley is ready to make her appointment with you. Yes, of course." And he put the phone back in its stand.

"Well?" Nora said anxiously.

"I have to call back in a few minutes. His a.s.sistants are all on a break right now. He can't make any appointments without them, because he's never certain of his schedule." Kyle laughed. "You'd think someone that important would have all the information he needed at his fingertips. I'll tell you what, Nora. Go shower and get the smell of s.e.x off of you. I'll pick an outfit for you to wear."

Nora got up and went into the bathroom, where she showered, and then reentering the bedroom, she said, "What have you chosen for me?"

He held it out. "Simple and elegant," he told her.

Nora looked at the dress. It was a wrap style, a dark green silk with a deep V neckline and long fitted sleeves. "It's lovely," she said. Lovely, but not like the d.a.m.ned floral print she had worn today to her son's graduation.

"But first these," he said, laying the dress on the bed and picking up a green lace garter belt. He hooked it around her, and then ordered her to sit while he rolled the sheerest nude stockings she had ever seen in all of her life up her legs, then hooked them neatly to the belt. "No bra," he said. "Your t.i.ts are too good."

"Panties?"

"Nope," he told her. "Too much trouble getting off when you get back, and I'll be waiting for you. The kid is out, and we've got the whole night ahead of us, Nora."

She stepped into the dress, while Kyle pulled it up and zipped it. Then kneeling down, he slipped sling-back heels on her slender feet. When he stood again, he put her back from him and whistled. Then he pulled the mirrored doors shut, and said, "What do you think?"

Nora stared. She looked absolutely marvelous. Far better than Heidi Millar, and here in The Channel she was probably Heidi's age. "Give me a brush. I need to do something with my hair," she said. "I'll put it up."

"No, down," he disagreed.

"I'll look like a tart out of a 1940s movie," she protested.

"We'll compromise," he said, brus.h.i.+ng her long red gold hair out. Then he picked up a large tortoisesh.e.l.l barrette, and gathering her hair into a single thick strand, he fastened the clasp. "Elegant. Goes with the dress. Doesn't look like a schoolmarm."

"I am hardly schoolmarmish in this dress with no undergarments," Nora laughed.

Kyle took a bottle from the dressing table. Uncorking it, he dabbed a little perfume in her cleavage. The phone rang, and he picked it up, putting down the scent bottle. "Mrs. Buckley's penthouse," he said. "Yes. Of course. I'll send her right down. Thank you, Margaret." He put the handset down, and turned to Nora. "Mr. Nicholas will see you now."

"Will you come with me?" she asked, suddenly nervous. She had never left her fantasy apartment other than to go back to her reality.

"I'm not invited," Kyle said. "You'll be alright, Nora, and I'll be waiting for you to get back. Remember, we have a couple of hours left." His hand went beneath her elbow, and he led her to a double door of heavy bronze. It was an elevator. Rolf came this way. Kyle pressed the b.u.t.ton, and the doors opened soundlessly.

The elevator was of polished pecan wood. There was a mirror in its rear, beneath which was a small red leather bench. A little crystal chandelier was fitted into its ceiling. He ushered her in and, leaning over, pressed a b.u.t.ton. "It's okay," he said as the doors closed softly. She couldn't feel any movement, and yet she knew the elevator was going down. For a moment she grew claustrophobic, and then she took a deep breath. It was all an adventure, and she suddenly realized she could hardly wait to see what came next. The elevator stopped suddenly, and its doors opened. Nora stared at what was in front of her.

Chapter Six.

She wasn't certain exactly what she had expected, but certainly not this. Stepping from the elevator, she found herself in a big room with a pale creamy carpet so plush she wasn't certain she could stand up in her high-heeled shoes. The lower half of the walls was paneled in oak. The upper half was wallpapered in a large elegant floral pattern in quiet tones of greens and coral on a cream-colored background. The ceiling was oak coffered, and the lighting was subdued. There was a couch covered in a pale gold silk brocade, a row of matching single chairs, and a mahogany coffee table on one side of the room. On the other, there were two beautiful wood desks with matching computer workstations, where two women of indeterminate age worked. They did not look up as the elevator opened and Nora entered the room.

A third woman, however, dressed in a nicely tailored wool tweed suit in shades of gray and lavender came forward, smiling. Her hair was salt-and-pepper in color, cut short, and styled beautifully. "Mrs. Buckley?" She held out her hand to shake Nora's hand. "I'm Margaret, Mr. Nicholas's personal a.s.sistant. Come this way, please. He's waiting for you." She turned and moved down the room toward a set of carved and paneled mahogany doors at the other end of the room.

Nora followed, amazed that she could actually walk in her stylish sling-backs. There was an empty desk next to those doors, opposite the other two. As she moved by those desks, neither of the women seated bothered to look up. They seemed to be very busy with whatever it was that they were doing. What were they doing? Nora wondered a little nervously.

Margaret knocked on one of the carved doors and, opening it immediately, ushered Nora inside. "Mr. Nicholas, Mrs. Buckley is here." Then she turned and retreated through the doors, closing them behind her.

Once more Nora was surprised. She had thought Mr. Nicholas would be French or Italian perhaps. She pictured a man in his early forties, suave and sophisticated, tall and well tailored, with dark hair and a lean body. The man who now came smilingly forward, his well-manicured hand outstretched in greeting, was nothing at all like that, except perhaps for his well-tailored dark pin-striped suit. He was short. Perhaps five feet and seven inches. He was in his late fifties, or possibly early sixties. His hair was wavy and gray, and obviously styled. His feet, she noticed, were small and he wore beautifully polished dark leather shoes. Her father had always worn shoes like that.

"My dear Mrs. Buckley, how very nice to meet you," he said. His voice was cultured, with just the slightest hint of a British accent. "May I call you Nora?" He took her hand and, tucking it in his arm, led her to a mulberry-colored velvet brocade couch that was set before a blazing fire. On the butler's tray before the couch was a silver tea tray. "I thought you might be ready for a small nibble, my dear."

"Thank you," Nora managed to say.

"Green or black?" he asked her.

"Green would be lovely," Nora responded. "Would you like me to pour?"

"No, no, my dear, I shall do it."

He picked up a delicate china cup and saucer in one hand, and a silver teapot in the other. Nora watched, fascinated, as the pale green gold tea poured from the silver spout into the round cup. She reached out to take it from him. He then poured himself a cup of tea from the other pot.