Chapter 12

When Andrew returned to the flat he was very disappointed that Suzanne was not there. When he called over to her house her mother answered and all he got was that she was feeling under the weather and had gone to bed already. There was no message other than he was back and that he would hopefully see her the following evening. Sitting in his living room, nursing a whisky, Andrew thought about the day. Tony and Maggie were some of his closest friends but they had this shared illicit secret that seemed to keep them isolated. Andrew vowed to work to integrate them with Leslie, Julian and Suzanne. It was these five that people that he saw and spent time with when he was in Edinburgh. But it was also a real eye-opener to discover that Tony had some land worth. Well Andrew didn’t know how much the land was worth but the numbers Tony was bandying about that afternoon were not trivial. And yet he didn’t have any airs or pretensions. Andrew had no idea about the land. And as Tony had said, it wasn’t like he had made the investment, his grandfather had. In fact working the land had probably shortened his life and it was first Tony’s father and then Tony that got the benefit.

As to whether he was going to invest Andrew was going to leave that to the experts. He would ask Doug to recommend someone reliable for a property valuation and then decide when he had an appraisal. All of Andrew’s money was in shares so moving some of his money into property did not seem like a bad thing. Creighton had talked about trying to diversify. Andrew stopped. These were all the mechanics of the transaction. He had to wait and see before making any decision. When it came to the photography business Maggie was very clear-headed. Setting up a couple of companies and then working through a partnership would shield them pretty thoroughly. Not completely but sufficient for privacy. Between her and Tony they seemed to be finding a few models and Tony had a style that should potentially sell. Andrew doubted he would be doing many shoots, if no other reason that he was never in Edinburgh. Before he went to bed Andrew stood at the window looking down the street but thinking about how he would shoot someone like Elspeth. How do you fulfil the modelling fantasy of someone who is not remotely close to the typical model size? It would be an interesting technical challenge but also an interesting psychological challenge as well. Stacey had shown that fears and anxieties about a part of her body could almost scupper the shoot.

Warrender called to him the following morning and he almost didn’t go for a run. It was shorter than normal but instead he swam for more than an hour, not particularly fast but he was just luxuriating in the water, letting it flow over him, clearing his head. He called Mhairi’s office right at 9.00 and spoke to her secretary. She was available for an hour after lunch so Andrew made his appointment. His next call was to Doug Somers who ran his own investment firm. He told Andrew to come down to the office and they could talk.

“Thanks for taking the time to chat to me Doug.”

“I am intrigued. You are the guy that has the ideas, decides to do something. I am interested in what you have come up with.”

Andrew explained the situation. Doug remembered Tony from the party.

“That is a good spot to be in. I have used a guy over at Hillier Parker before, how do you want to do it?”

“If you give me his name then I will get Mhairi to deal with him. Just give him a heads up that she will be calling.”

“I can do that. If the valuation comes in at a reasonable amount then are you going to invest?”

“Potentially. I will need to talk to Creighton but if it makes sense then yes. There was someone leasing the plot for 25 years. Now there was some cockup in the lease and they were paying peanuts. But if a proper lease is drafted then it is ideal, regular income with no need for my involvement. But it is early days, we’ll see.

“On a different note, is there much publicity about CMS?”

“Not yet, although there are rumblings. The key thing is you are not trying to attract additional money. All these adverts you see in the paper, on the television, that is all marketing. Give us your money we will grow it for you. I do that, although nothing like as much as people like Scottish Widows or Standard Life. CMS doesn’t so they are just not in the public consciousness so much. It will be interesting to see. If we have a couple of big successes then more questions will be asked.”

Andrew and Doug chatted for a few more minutes but Andrew had already taken up too much of his time so he didn’t overstay his welcome. With time to kill Andrew did what he always did, he went to the library. There in the business section he found a book on property investing. It was hideously out of date but the concepts were clear even the amounts being used in the example were low. It was so out of date it was dealing in pre-decimal currency. But it was a useful couple of hours getting familiar with the ways that property was valued and the different ways to generate income. Feeling more informed he walked back down to Mhairi’s office.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you on a random Friday in August Andrew. How can I help?”

Andrew explained for the second time that day about the opportunity. Mhairi took it in her stride.

“Okay, that is clear. Hillier’s are good and so you will get a useful report with a valuation range, both in terms of purchase price and lease income potential.”

They spent 30 minutes talking about how to structure the deal. Without Andrew even mentioning it she told him he would need to set up a property company. There was a whole list of reasons but the main one was to contain liability. Andrew figured that he would need to set one up so this was good confirmation. When he talked about a second company for photography Mhairi’s only concern was whether it was necessary. But Andrew arriving with most of it sorted out mitigated a lot of the questions. Once the details were dealt with the questions were more general.

“What prompted this flurry of activity?”

“I didn’t mention it but the other person who is selling their share of the property is getting a divorce and he is selling the land to pay his wife, or soon-to-be ex-wife.”

“So the person who is selling is not a friend?”

Andrew thought for a moment.

“An acquaintance is more accurate. I know him, and worked for him for a couple of summers before I had cancer.”

“Before you had cancer?”

Andrew nodded.

“How old were you?”

“Moving on.”

Mhairi looked surprised

“Okay. The reason I am asking is it will define the parameters of the negotiations. If he is desperate for money then we can drive a hard bargain.”

“I am pretty sure I don’t want to do that. This is the land that the two grandfathers bought between the world wars. I suspect Tony would be uncomfortable being too aggressive.”

Mhairi nodded but it was noticeable she didn’t verbally agree. As it turned out he didn’t need to worry. When Andrew got to Tony’s shop he was in a bad mood. Given how Andrew had left the studio this was surprising. But the reason for the foul mood was Archie.

“I made you listen to me yesterday drone on about the history of the land and how it was a shame that Archie was having to sell. Today I found out that the bastard has been slagging off Maggie behind my back. Shit, some of the things he has been saying. If I get my hands on him.”

Given the size of Archie Andrew didn’t think this was a wise idea. But less than 20 minutes earlier Mhairi had been talking about aggressive negotiations. It was time to hit Archie where it would really hurt. His wallet. Andrew explained everything that he had done so far and that the way to pay Archie back for talking shit about Maggie was to be aggressive with him when it came to the negotiations. Tony finally smiled and you could see the tension relax from his shoulders.

“How is it the 19 year old is the calm one?”

He shook his head.

“Did you bring the film from last night?”

Andrew nodded.

“I am glad that I am doing more exercise now because I have needed to up my game. Maggie left me a broken man last night.”

He clapped Andrew on the back.

“I know that it is downright weird having you take naked photographs of my fiancé but it drives her wild.”

They spent a companionable couple of hours developing and printing the two rolls of film. Tony had to go through and help Stacey a couple of times but by 4.00 the 48 prints were spread out on the table in the studio. Maggie was laid bare, spread-eagled and in a couple of the last shots, obviously turned on. They were a spectacular set of pictures. Explicit yet very intimate at the same time. Nothing really needed to be said.

“You should take them up to the flat. Best not to leave them lying around.”

Tony laughed mirthlessly.

“No shit. Will we see you this weekend?”

“I don’t know yet to be honest. I am on the first flight down on Monday morning but I haven’t seen anyone else yet. I’ll give you a call.”

When Suzanne came home, as she closed the front door a feeling of calm washed over Andrew. The last day or so had been fine but he missed Suzanne. Although she was a sparkly eyed vixen in his arms as they kissed she also looked unhappy.

“What’s wrong? I rush all the way from the wilds to be with you and you look sad.”

“Get over yourself. I am not unhappy to see you, I am delighted to see you. It is just unfortunate timing that is all.”

It took Andrew a second to understand. So when her mother had said she was not feeling well...

“So you are even more sex obsessed than me?”

Whack duly delivered.

“Andrew, I get super horny at this time of the month. Don’t tease me.”

“Em, so why don’t we have sex?”

Suzanne’s gasping ‘Andrew’ died on her lips. After playing with Helena back at Cambridge he was familiar with how a woman’s period made her extra aroused.

“The instant answer is because it is all bloody and gross, but it is more a taboo thing rather than anything else. Would you really want to have sex with me even if your dick gets all covered in blood?”

Andrew thought about it.

“You get wet and slick when you are turned on, my spunk gets everywhere when I come so it seems that the issue is the symbolism of it, or something, rather than the fluid itself. Frankly, the idea of doing something so taboo is a positive not a negative. Would you be alright seeing your blood on my dick after sex?”

This really was a very surreal conversation. Andrew could see Suzanne thinking about it just as he had.

“Hell yes, by the third and fourth day of my period I am hornier than hell and the idea of you fucking me, or us fucking, while menstruating has got me seriously hot and bothered. Are we doing this?”

Andrew’s only answer was to lift Suzanne under her arse and kiss her. Her response? Try to rip his lips off with a savage snarl.

“Control yourself, you are the one bleeding not me.”

“Shower. Now.”

As he followed her swaying arse Andrew marvelled at Suzanne’s grasp of the logistics of this. The shower was perfect. Suzanne really was hot and horny; no sooner were they in the bathroom than she was helping him strip. Before a single piece of clothing of hers was off she was on her knees licking the underside of his cock and tickling his balls with the end of her tongue. She opened wide and sucked him in as far as she was able, all the while using her tongue along the bottom of his cock. The inevitable erupted mere seconds later. With that out of the way Suzanne undressed quickly and Andrew watched with fascination as she reached between her legs and pulled the thread of string that was hanging from her pussy. Three months earlier he would have been transfixed but at least part of this feminine mystery had been revealed by Helena back in June. Suddenly a thought struck him. Opening the linen cupboard, conveniently in the bathroom, he spied the old beach towel from their Roman holiday, perfect to mask unsettling stains. He grabbed it and took it through to the bedroom.

“Andrew, where are we going?”

Suzanne had followed him into their room. When she saw him spread the towel on the end of the bed, her eyes went saucer shaped. She actually started to back up but Andrew was having none of it. He stood behind her and whispered in her ear.

“Time for me to channel my inner vampire. Come on, lie down and let me show you how turned on you really are.”

Suzanne couldn’t stop coming, although it was more of a state of heightened arousal. There was no skill, no long drawn out intense foreplay, nothing like that. Andrew’s tongue had barely grazed her clit and she was off. By the time he had two fingers searching out her g-spot she was coming down from her second orgasm. It was wonderful to watch, to feel, to hear. Suzanne came loudly with cries to God and a lot of moaning, her body repeatedly betraying her and constantly re-cresting, to feel the power in her body, her thighs, the muscles in her pussy and the way she kept trying to snap his neck between her legs. She was out of control and to know that he was causing it was a mighty powerful aphrodisiac. When Andrew finally relented and let her coast down the far side of her mountain range of orgasms there were small blood stains on her thighs and the towel was a little damp, all in all it did not appear to be very messy. Normally Andrew would clean up and lie beside her but with blood everywhere he wanted to be clean and safe so sat between Suzanne’s legs, his left cheek resting against the inside of her right thigh, caressing the inner thigh opposite with his right hand. He felt the bed move and Suzanne sat up.