Chapter 4: Perverse Distractions

Friday, September 6th, 10:05 am

The roar of the engines whipped my jacket around as I followed Erin across the tarmac toward the plane’s steps. I stopped at the bottom of the steps and turned to gaze out at the Scottish highlands one last time, enjoying the intense greens that reached up toward the gray overcast skies as if trying to impart some of its vibrancy to the drab colors overhead. So far, this had been my favorite spot to visit during my European excursion. I enjoyed the bustle of large cities like London and Paris; the uniqueness of places like Amsterdam had been fascinating, but Scotland held a majesty and beauty that the other places hadn’t. It was probably comparing apples to oranges, considering I bought a castle in the countryside.

Of course, Lillian wasn’t much of a help at preventing biases. I wasn’t in love by any stretch, but I could easily see myself adding the young, curvy Scottish beauty to the little harem trailing behind me as I flitted around the world. While I could afford it, I didn’t think it would have been fair to her. She had a life to lead; all I could do was disrupt that in exchange for momentary pleasures. I’d be back, and perhaps we would see what happened in time, but for now, saying goodbye to her would have to do.

Turning, I headed up the plane’s steps and entered with Chloe in tow. It wasn’t as big or luxurious as mine, but it wasn’t bad either. There was a large common area with comfortable-looking seating, a hallway to the left leading off to what I assumed were a few private rooms, a toilet, and a minibar, which Shea was already perusing. She gave me a little smile and a wink. “Looks like this place is fully stocked. Why don’t you go ahead and get comfortable? Once we’ve leveled off, I’ll get you some breakfast.”

A thin, cream-colored folder slapped me in the midsection, cutting off my response. Chloe stood beside me, holding a folder against my chest until I took it from her.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Reading material,” she said, nodding back at Jon, the last one up the stairs. He shut the door and edged past us to head toward the cockpit. “Should give you enough to do till breakfast.”

I flipped open the folder, leafed through the pages, followed Chloe, and took up one of the empty seats.

“Is this Hannon’s findings on the laptop?” Erin asked, peering at the folder as she sat beside me.

“It is,” Chloe said, sitting opposite me so we could face each other. “Before we get into that, though, I thought you should know I’ve been briefed on Håkansson’s place. She keeps minimal security at her mansion and only has one bodyguard on her when she leaves. It’s pretty remote. I’d like to stay near you, but the rest of my guys can ease off when we get there.”

She continued, “Astrid says they picked out the meeting place—a remote cabin only accessible by chopper. This is the best Tanaka would agree to. According to Astrid, you, her, and Tanaka are the only ones allowed there. I told her I was going, or it wasn’t happening, so she finally relented to each person having one bodyguard. No weapons. Astrid’s there to broker the peace, so her security will check all four of us for contraband before we can step foot in the cabin where negotiations will be held. A small crew of four will be at the cabin to serve us food and whatever—all unarmed civilians.”

By this point, the plane had taxied out to the runway, the engines were revving up, and I could feel the plane begin to lunge forward at a rate that made my stomach churn slightly. Minutes later, we were taking off.

“What do we know about Ryo Tanaka?” I asked as I settled back in my seat and scanned the documents.

“Not much that isn’t easy to find on a Google search,” Chloe said. “He went to Yale and fucked around for about seven years before finally graduating. Fucked around for another six years in business school before finally getting an MBA. He’s hot-tempered, entitled, and goes through women like a fourteen-year-old boy goes through Kleenex.”

“Jesus,” Erin said. “Hiro attracts losers, doesn’t he? Sounds a little like Carla.”

“Worse, I’d say,” Chloe said dryly. “Tanaka has a daughter, and it looks like Hiro is a traditionalist. I can’t find much on her besides a transcript. She got her MBA in four years, but I can’t find any evidence that she works in the company.”

“Her too?” I asked. “Don’t MBAs normally take two years?”

“Yeah,” Chloe said, “But I’m talking about getting a degree and an MBA in four years. She’s twenty-one, which means she probably graduated high school early, too.”

“But Ryo’s the one we’re meeting with?” Erin asked.

At the same time, I asked, “What’s the deal with all the spoiled rich boys?”

“There’s plenty of spoiled girls out there,” Chloe said.

“Ashlee,” Erin said.

Chloe nodded. “Carla.” She shrugged. “I’m no psychologist, but if I had to guess, I’d say Hiro wasn’t the most present father, and your father was dead. I doubt either of them had any strong father figure.”

The thought made me even more appreciative of my dad, and I made a mental note to call my parents just to check in. I hadn’t talked to them since the weekend I threw the party at the house.

“Cool. Meeting Ryo tomorrow. Just you and me. Got it.” I held up the papers she’d given me. “Now, what’s this?”

“A lot of guesswork,” Chloe said, her lips compressing in a frown. Her nose crinkled a little when she did it, which was cute as hell. Combined with the light dusting of freckles and the blonde hair, it was almost enough to make me forget how cold and deadly she could be.

“From what the team at Hannon can piece together, it’s a list of bank accounts and routing numbers, although they haven’t had any luck pinpointing any of the institutions they belong to. The numbers could be some kind of code, but no one’s been able to break it. I think they might be linked to shell corporations your grandfather owned. It’s probably to do with some of the more illicit parts of his business.”

I felt an eyebrow raise. “Colin had his information written out in some kind of code?”

Chloe nodded. “We’re pretty sure it’s a code because one of the guys at Hannon managed to crack some of the other information we pulled off the laptop. It’s a bunch of names, dates, and locations. Hannon is working with Psalter to track down the few leads we’ve managed to pull from the info.”

“Getting information off a hard drive with a hole drilled through it is great work,” I said, looking up from the papers, “But this doesn’t tell me much about the flash drive they were after ... or anything at all.”

Chloe shook her head. “This is information from the flash drive. Whoever stole it must have looked at the information on it with the laptop before destroying it. They found it in...” she checked a note, “they found it by doing a RAM dump?”

“Okay,” I said as if I knew what that meant. “So all this is information from the flash drive.”

“Yep. Here’s where it gets interesting,” Chloe said, leaning forward. Her dark brown eyes were alight with intrigue; it was the most expressive I’d seen her ... save for that night in Vegas when I caught her watching Ashley, Shea, and me enjoy each other’s company.

“They got a hit on one of the names,” Chloe continued. “Phillip Castor.”

I glanced through the pages, finding it on the third. Four numbers were beside his name—four, two, seven, and another four.

“What about him?” I asked.

“He was an inmate at a high-security prison for the wealthy and privileged. He was murdered nine days ago.”

I could feel my eyes growing wide. “What?”

“We requested the footage, but apparently, there was some kind of technical malfunction, and half of that day’s recording was corrupted. The officer on duty in their surveillance room was found knocked out.”

“You’re telling me someone waltzed into a secure facility, murdered an inmate, and left without anyone noticing until it was too late? How’s that possible?” Erin asked.

“There’s no footage,” Chloe said, “But two guards manning security at the front entrance described the person who signed in to visit Castor around the time that the murder took place. It sounds an awful lot like Amber Bell.”

I sat up straight in my seat. “That fucking bitch!”

“We’ve got her?” Erin asked.

Chloe shook her head. “I’m afraid not. I got a call from Hannon about an hour ago. They’ve verified that Amber was working out of a coffee shop in New York that morning. They confirmed with one of the baristas on duty that morning, and I should be getting video any moment now.”

“Motherfucker!” I snarled, “This crap again!?”

“So, it wasn’t her?” Erin asked.

“I think it was,” Chloe said, eying me. “Marcus was so sure Amber was in Vegas that I wondered whether or not it was true.”

“Because it was!” I protested.

“The mind can play tricks when you’re under that much stress,” Chloe said placatingly. “But with two more people giving us a perfect description of Amber, I’m inclined to think that she’s somehow managing to fool everyone into thinking she’s in one place when she’s really somewhere else.”

“Glad we’ve cleared that up,” I said, unable to completely hide the wryness from my voice and immediately regretting it. Chloe was in my corner and had saved my life that night in Vegas. Granted, I’d paid her to do it, but still ... what was a six-digit annual salary compared to my life. As far as I was concerned, I owed her, and vilifying her because she was understandably skeptical wasn’t a good look. “What do we do about this?”

Chloe looked unaffected by my tone. “Nothing right now. I’m working with Henry. We’ll try to figure out how she’s doing what she’s doing, and I’ll update you if we piece any more information together from the hard drive.”

“That’s it?” I asked. “There’s nothing else I can do?”

“Nope,” Chloe said. She reached for the folder she’d given me earlier. “Just let Psalter and I do our jobs. It’s why you pay us. In the meantime...” my bodyguard glanced past me. “I think it’s just about time for breakfast.”

I followed Chloe’s gaze to see Shea standing in the hallway opening leading to the private rooms, another mysterious smile gracing her full lips. She jerked her head back the way she’d come, beckoning me.

“Come on, boss,” Erin said, unbuckling her belt as she stood up. “Let’s let Chloe work while we see what Shea has for us.”

A few minutes later, I was experiencing the gentle thrum of music that could almost be felt as much as it could be heard. Deep, rolling basslines of trip-hop and dub underlined slow, groove-driven beat and eclectic female vocals. It was the perfect companion to the smooth, snake-like movement of Shea’s hips as she rolled them from side to side. Her back turned toward me, and her prominent ass moved up and down in liquid motions as she flashed seductive bedroom eyes over one shoulder.

Shea was a small woman, which made her average curves more prominent. With her easy smile and petite frame, though, she could easily come across as a diminutive, sweet little Pacific Asian woman. But in moments like this ... she was more woman than her compact frame could have ever suggested.

There hadn’t exactly been a dancer’s pole on the plane, so Shea was being creative, using a small desk as a prop to bend over, roll across, and writhe in ways that were simply mouth-watering. She probably could have taught Natashya a few things ... only, Natashya was off limits. Shea was not.

And the way my dick strained against my pants ... it knew she was on the menu.

“So,” Erin said, sitting on the couch beside me and nibbling on a piece of bacon she held delicately between two fingers.

“So,” I repeated, unable to tear my eyes away from Shea. At this point, she’d completely removed her flight attendant’s outfit and was currently writhing around in a lacy black bra and panty set. This was one hell of a way to eat breakfast—getting a strip show by my private flight attendant while hanging out with one of the hottest women I’d ever met, my personal assistant.

“Karly,” Erin said.

I finally took my eyes off Shea to look at Erin. “Karly,” I repeated.

“I’ve been dying to talk to you about this. Charity called me after she talked to you last night and gave me Karly’s information. I talked to her, and she filled me in on some details. It’s a movie she really likes about a computer falling in love with its owner and trapping her inside her smart home. Karly’s been trying to get funding, but no one’s bitten.”

“How come?” I asked, turning my attention back to Shea.

“The writer’s new to the industry, and Karly is the only one with any kind of clout attached to it, and apparently, that’s not enough.”

“Hm,” I said, barely paying attention. My thoughts were too busy flitting back and forth between Shea—slowly shedding the underwear over her ass and down the creamy skin of her thighs—and the conversation we just had had with Chloe.

“Not interested?” Erin asked.

“Maybe,” I said. I glanced at Erin. “Will she send a script?”

“She’s going to,” Erin said. “But I think you should work with her regardless. With a big enough budget and help with the script, it sounds promising, and getting involved could be good for your image.”

Shea bent over and slid her panties the rest of the way down her legs and gracefully stepped out of them, staying bent over with her hands on her knees as she glanced at me from over her shoulder again through her curtain of black hair. Her dark eyes sparkled with mischievous desire, and as she slowly straightened, her hair fell out of her face, revealing a seductive smile. The tip of her pink tongue slid across her top lip and slipped back in her mouth as she bit lightly on her plush bottom lip. Her back arched, pushing her breasts out as she slipped her hands behind her and reached for the clasp of her bra. It came loose, and the straps began sliding down her shoulders when I felt my fingers gently touch my jaw.

Erin had placed the plate of food on the floor and had gotten on all fours. Her face was achingly close to mine as she pulled my attention back to her. Liquid pools gazed at me, filled with hedonistic possibilities, as she gave me her patented Cheshire grin. “Karly. Titus. Think about that for a second, Marcus.”

The spell Shea had over me was temporarily abolished; I did think about it.

There was no denying Karly was gorgeous. She’d only been on the acting scene a handful of years, but she’d already made a splash. Her most recent role had been a guest spot as a recurring character in a recent political drama I only knew in passing, but she’d also starred in several movies last year. She was fairly popular around social media thanks to her beauty, and more than once, I’d come across a compilation video that showed her looking prettily into the camera or a co-star ... half-dressed. She was probably on a growing list of hall passes that couples had for sleeping with certain celebrities. Hell ... she had starred in my fantasies a time or two. The possibility that I might actually meet her in person, let alone what Erin was suggesting...

I imagined Karly sitting on the other side of me on the couch, watching Erin as her face inched closer to mine. My mind’s eye saw her bright hazel eyes, watching my assistant kiss me in my imagination, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear as she wondered how both of us tasted. I gulped at the thought, but that’s all it was—just a thought.

“It’s Karly Titus, Erin. She could date anyone.”

“Jesus, Marcus,” Erin breathed. She leaned in and brushed her lips across mine. “I’m not talking about dating her. She broke up with her boyfriend a month ago, and from what I picked up in our conversation, she hasn’t been seeing anyone. I think it’s a real possibility.” She kept her lips hovering close to mine. Her eyes were mere slits as she stared through her lashes. “Besides ... you aren’t just anyone, Marcus. Just imagine escorting her down the red carpet to a movie premiere you made possible. Karly in a little red dress...

My phone buzzed next to me on the couch, and I reluctantly tore my gaze from Erin to glance down at it. It was Helen. It had to be what ... five in the morning there? Helen was an early riser, but that was early even for her. Maybe the jet lag was getting to her.

“You should ask Helen what she thinks,” Erin said, seeing who had texted me. “I bet she’d tell you to shoot your shot.”

“Let’s find out,” I said, picking up my phone and unlocking it.

Sure enough, the message from Helen read, Damn jet lag has me all messed up.

“Oh, good!” Erin said, perking up. “She’s awake! Call her!”

Doing just that, I didn’t have to wait long for her face to appear on the video display. She appeared a little tired around the eyes but otherwise looked amazing as always. Her blonde hair was pulled back to fall over her shoulders, with a few strands falling around her face. Dark eyebrows, betraying her natural hair color, were arched high in surprise as she stared back at me, with Erin’s head hovering just over my shoulder.

“Oh, hi!” Erin chirped. “Miss you!”

“I miss you too!” Helen said wearily, but there was definitely a note of sincerity in her voice. I’d never seen her hang out with anyone outside of our little circle, but I suddenly realized that we could very well be her only friends.

“How you doing?” I asked.

“I’m fine. Just tired, but I’ll need to go into the office in a few hours, so I’m not bothering with trying to get any more sleep. She peered at the camera as if trying to look past me. “Where are you?”

“A private plane Erin arranged,” I said. Then I turned the camera around to show Shea, who was currently on the desk on her back. Her spine was arched, pressing her medium-sized breasts into the air. Shea turned her head to look at us and gave a small wave at the phone.

“Hi, sweetie!” she called out and then blew a kiss at us.

Helen sighed as I turned the camera back to Erin and me. “I should have just phoned into this meeting. I’m missing all the fun.”

“The fun won’t be as nice without you here,” Erin chimed in. “Where are you?”

Helen hummed, a crooked little smile forming. “Just laying in Marcus’ bed.” She backed her phone away to show more of her body ... more of her naked body, that is. Helen VanCamp wasn’t wearing a scrap of clothing as she lay on my sheets. She slid one hand down her face and further down her body to cup a breast and give it a firm squeeze.

“God!” Erin gasped. “I miss those tits! You’re looking, girl! Tara’s been doing wonders.”

“Thank you,” Helen said, her smile looking a little shy. “I think I’m pleased with the results.”

It’s true. Tara had only been with us for about a month, but I was already noticing a difference in some of the ladies. Helen and Bobbi, in particular. Helen had always had a certain level of athleticism, but the direction Tara was taking her was starting to really pay off. When the light hit her right, I could see a faint hint of ripple under her feminine belly. Her ass felt a little more firm, and her thighs seemed a little more muscular. The same with Bobbi, though since she was already slender, the results had been similar—giving her a slight muscle tone while retaining her femininity.

I’d also noticed changes in myself. I’d dropped nearly ten pounds and probably only had another ten before reaching my target weight. At the same time, my core felt more ... substantial, for lack of a better word. I had more muscle control and felt better overall. With me, Tara had decided to practically ignore cardio, stating that I was probably getting enough of that as it was, and I’d detected a hint of jealousy when she made the statement.

“Hey! Check the nightstand next to where Marcus sleeps,” Erin said.

Helen rolled over to access the nightstand, holding her phone in such a way as to give me a beautiful shot of her face and over her shoulder so her back and ass looked like a plane of beautiful skin with squeezable mountains in the distance.

Erin’s breath rolled over my ear as she whispered, “After what happened between you two just before she left, I had Jessica leave something in your room for your newest slave girl. I think you’ll like it,” she said and nipped at my ear with her teeth.

Helen rolled back over and held up a plastic-looking object shaped roughly like an egg. It looked small enough to fit in the valley of her palm.

“It’s so cute!” Erin exclaimed and then grinned mischievously. “Are you wet?”

“Since getting to know the two of you,” Helen said, “Almost constantly.

“Good,” Erin purred. “Put it in.”

Without waiting for Helen to respond, Erin slinked off the couch and made her way over to Shea. Helen cocked her head at me and asked, “What is she up to?”

“Beats me,” I said, watching my assistant approach my dancing flight attendant. She closed in on the petite Asian still lying on the desk and stopped in front of her, slipping her delicate fingers through Shea’s black hair as she bent over and pressed her lips to Shea’s in an upside-down kiss. Their tongues immediately flashed as they slid from one mouth to the other.

I turned my attention back to Helen, who was holding the phone far enough away and at an angle where I could see down her body. Her breasts lay flat and slightly spread apart, and her legs were parted with the hand holding the egg already buried between them. Her eyes were closed, and her tongue gently touched her top lip as she concentrated on what she was doing. I immediately undid my belt and opened my pants, fishing out my erection as I got two very beautiful shows.

Erin and Shea broke their kiss, and the latter rolled off the table and onto all fours. Joined by my assistant, they slowly crawled over to me, so close to each other that their arms brushed. Erin leaned in and nuzzled her cheek against Shea’s as they drew closer, her dark eyes still fixed on mine with a predatory gaze.

When they got close enough, she said softly, “Open the app on the top right of your main screen.”

I did so, keeping Helen in the small window so I could watch her as I opened the app Erin had obviously installed on my phone without my knowledge. When it opened, I was greeted with a set of controls and readouts that reminded me a little of the app I had for Bobbi’s and Helen’s collars. I immediately realized what Erin had done.

“Oh fuck,” I said.

“Glad you like it,” Erin murmured, proud of herself as she reached my leg and laid her arms across my knee. Shea hooked her fingers in my pants and drew them down my legs until they were completely removed, then she mirrored Erin on the other leg. She moved her face forward until her cute nose nuzzled my exposed cock and drew the tip up the shaft, trailing behind it with her bottom lip.

“I got it for your other pet,” Erin continued quietly enough so Helen likely couldn’t hear what she said. “But all things considered, I thought it was appropriate.”

“I’ve never used one of these before,” Helen said, her eyes slowly opening and giving me a stunning view of her ice-blue irises. “How do I turn it on?”

“You don’t,” I said. “I do.”

I touched one of the phone controls, which resembled a sliding volume control on a sound board, and Helen gasped, her eyes wide in shock. “Oh my god ... Marcus, is that you?”

Erin grinned as she pressed her cheek on the other side of my cock and nuzzled it against her skin. Her dark eyes were dancing with amusement. Then she turned her head and pressed her lips against the side of my warm, hard dick.

“Fuck,” I muttered, looking down at my assistant. “This is an amazing.”

“Good,” Erin murmured and then melded her lips to the side of my cock just as Shea did the same with her fuller, more plush lips.

“Marcus,” Helen said, her voice suddenly sounding strained. I noticed her hand still buried between her legs. “This could be dangerous, baby.”

“Remove your hand,” I said, ignoring her words and the smile that implied all sorts of naughty ideas of where this could be used.

To her credit, my Helen did as she was told without hesitation, returning fingers now slick and glistening with her arousal to her breast. She dug her fingers into generous tit flesh as she stared into her phone through her eyelashes, still made dark with mascara.

“Good girl,” I groaned as I felt a pair of lips slip over the tip of my prick and envelope it. Shea’s plush mouth suckled gently on the head as she stared at me. Erin’s lips were just under hers, still kissing along the side of my cock and occasionally brushing the flight attendant’s lips with her own.

I rewarded Helen’s obedience by increasing the egg’s vibration inside her.

“Oh fuck, Marcus...” Helen whimpered. Her hips began gyrating, grinding her ass into my mattress before humping the air. “Oh my god ... why can’t you be here? Oh no ... I don’t think I like this. I need a cock. I need your cock, baby.”

“I’ll give it to you,” I growled. “As soon as I get back. I’m going to fuck every single hole you have. I’m going to fuck that pretty mouth until I cum down your throat.”

Shea began working her lips further down my cock, edging Erin out of the way a little more with each stroke down as she began to blow me enthusiastically. The dirty talk, the bass-rich music, and the beautiful women on their knees all served up a heady concoction of lust and desire that—when mingled with the uniqueness of this new long-distance situation—was driving me mad a little at a time. Fuck ... the things I could do with this. Helen could be in the middle of meetings when I activated this. I could use this on dates ... wake her up from sleep.

Erin was right ... I would have loved to use this on Bobbi.

But it was even more fun with Helen.

“How long does the battery last?” I asked Erin, who was currently running her tongue up the side of my shaft. She continued to run it past Shea’s lips and up the other woman’s cheek before Erin took her ear between her teeth and lightly nibbled on it. One of Erin’s hands was still on my knee. The other had disappeared behind Shea, where she was clearly manipulating her pussy.

“Twelve hours of continuous use, I think,” Erin said, releasing her teeth from Shea’s ear.

“Hell yes,” I said, turning it up a little more.

“Listen to me, pet,” I said to Helen, again using our name for Bobbi. “You are to keep this thing in you until I tell you to take it out. Understand?”

“Marcus...” Helen said, her eyes narrowed to the point where they were almost shut.

“No,” I said. “When you have that egg inside you, I’m Sir or Master.”

Helen didn’t say anything. Her legs had fallen to the bed, and she was holding her breast tight to her chest. Her fingertips were dug into her light skin, and her chest was rising and falling faster with each passing minute as the vibrator buried inside her continued its relentless assault. Her head was arched back, and her throat was an ivory expanse of beautiful skin I wanted to sink my teeth into.

Meanwhile, Erin and Shea had taken up positions on either side of my cock and were bathing it liberally with their tongues. They ran in perfect symmetry, dragging their wet appendages up the sides of my dick to meet at the head, where their lips met for a sloppy kiss as their tongues danced over the angry purple tip. My eyes couldn’t decide where to land—the woman I was making orgasm from thousands of miles away or the make-out session happening over my erection.

“Answer me,” I growled at Helen, who was too busy trying to process what was happening inside her to readily respond.

“Oh my g...” Helen said. Her abs flexed as she hunched over. Her teeth were gritted, and her eyes clenched shut. “Yes, Sir ... yes ... Master...”

I lowered the intensity to a dull roar and settled back into the couch as I watched the two girls take turns taking my cock in their pretty mouths before once again making out over my dick. Erin’s free hand—the one not buried inside Shea’s vagina— was roaming and exploring the other woman’s petite but curvier frame. Her slender fingers danced over Shea’s larger tits, running over the slightly older woman’s smooth, creamy skin.

“Ma ... did you?” Helen started to ask, her words falling off when she opened her eyes and saw me grinning. She immediately rolled her eyes, “Oh my god ... you can’t do that!”

“I can do whatever I want,” I said. Suddenly, I’d had enough and thrust the phone into Erin’s hands. Since Shea was the only one not wearing pants, I grabbed a fistful of her hair and dragged her up my body. Erin immediately read the situation and held up the phone, pointing the back of the phone toward me. Her eyes danced over the screen, and her face was set in a malicious smile that I barely noticed because I was too busy dragging the petite flight attendant into my lap.

Shea was breathing hard as she straddled me and lifted her ass into the air as she reached between her legs to grab my cock. She lined it with her opening and immediately sank on it, her eyes rolling in the back of her head as I pulled her down against me and crushed my lips to hers.

“Erin,” I heard Helen from my phone. “Baby ... don’t leave me like this.”