Chapter 9: The Awakening of Lynne

Morning arrived about three hours earlier than anticipated. It had been after 1 AM before Richard and I returned to my hotel suite and nearly 2 AM before we had gotten to sleep. Now some hotel administrative idiot had decided that this would be the perfect time for a fire drill. The shrill bell was boring holes in my head as I fought my way out of bed with much thrashing of arms and legs. I finally found myself standing shakily in the center of the room; the top sheet wrapped around one leg, my heart hammering in my chest, casting about wildly for any sign of smoke or fire.

"I really have no idea what you think you're doing Alex, but as long as you're up, would you mind answering the phone?" Richard asked sleepily.

Grumbling to myself, I stomped over to the still ringing phone, tripped over the dangling sheet and fell to my knees. The phone was knocked off the bedside stand, landing on the floor in front of me, the receiver bouncing under the bed. I fished the receiver from its hiding place, wanting to scream 'What the hell do you want and why are you calling me in the middle of the night' but instead said, "Ms. Goodman speaking."

A cheery female voice on the other end chirped, "This is your courtesy six o'clock wake up call, Ms. Goodman."

By now I was more or less awake and aware of the situation, so I politely thanked the cheerful idiot and hung up.

As I struggled to my feet and tried to unwind the sheet from around my leg, I heard Richard chuckling softly to himself. Realizing just how ridiculous I must look, and how ludicrous the situation appeared, I started laughing myself.

Richard sat up in bed and said, "Come here Alex and let me help you extradite yourself from that 'killer sheet' before you do yourself a permanent injury." I twisted my body around and flopped back onto the bed, still attempting to disentangle myself, when Richard reached out and grabbed my foot, dragging me over to him by one leg. Quickly finding the problem (in all my flailing about I'd managed to work the sheet into a granny knot) he worked it free, slid it off my leg and tossed it aside. Then he bent forward and placed a kiss high up on my inner thigh. I cuffed his head playfully and announced that if he wanted a shower before we left for the airport, he'd better knock off the foolishness and get cracking.

While he was in the shower, I called room service and ordered a pot of coffee delivered to the room. As an afterthought I had them add a small bottle of their best brandy to the order.

The coffee arrived just as Richard emerged from the bathroom, one towel wrapped around his waist, drying his hair with a second. The waitress, a matronly woman with her gray hair in a tight bun, wheeled the cart into the room, smiled at me and, with a conspiratorial wink, backed out the door pulling it shut behind her.

I poured two cups of coffee, and then added a splash of brandy to each. Richard, seeing what I had done, grinned and said, "Make mine a double splash... it's going to be a long day."

As Richard sat down with his coffee, I took my cup and retired to the bathroom, scooping up some clothes on the way. Before I closed the door, I called over my shoulder, "Better get dressed while you drink it. We have to leave for the airport soon."

Once I had taken a quick shower, dressed, and thrown on a little makeup, I returned to the kitchen to find Richard fully dressed, pouring his second cup of coffee. I held out my cup for a refill and sank into a chair.

"I'm beginning to feel almost human again. God, I didn't realize it got light this early!" I sighed.

Richard chuckled and asked, "Is it always this exciting around here in the morning?"

Thinking of how I must have looked standing naked in the middle of the room with a bed sheet wrapped around one leg, frantically trying to locate a nonexistent fire while the phone was ringing off the hook, sent me into gales of laughter. I'd just taken a sip of coffee and nearly snorted it out through my nose.

Finally regaining my composure, I suggested to Richard that we'd better leave soon. He looked at his watch and announced that, given the traffic during the morning rush, we probably should have left ten minutes ago. As I gathered my coat and purse, he called down for the valet to bring his car around to the front. Five minutes later we were in his Land Rover, crawling through London's heavy early morning traffic.

As soon as we reached the motorway, traffic thinned somewhat and we pulled into the car park at Heathrow at 8:25, just in time to see an Airbus jetliner with British Airways markings turn onto final approach and start its gradual decent to the runway. Knowing that it would take awhile for Ellen and Lynne to deplane and process through Security, Customs and Passport Control, we entered the terminal and found a closed-circuit video screen displaying flight arrivals and departures, noting that BA 175 had in fact arrived on time.

We located a small intimate lounge where we could watch the area where thin trickles of international passengers from previous arrivals were exiting the processing area. Richard ordered coffee for us and we settled back to await the appearance of our two new guests.

When our coffee arrived, Richard leaned forward and took a sip, his eyes meeting mine over the rim of his cup as he said, "So, you've never heard Ellen mention this Lynne person?"

"No," I replied. "I've never heard her mention that name before. Of course, you have to remember that Ellen gave the desk clerk her message over the phone and he probably wrote it down phonetically, so we're not even sure 'Lynne' is a woman. It could be that she has a secret boyfriend named Lyndon, or Lindsey, or Linden, or even Lincoln. We're just going to have to wait and see."

"I suppose you're right," Richard grumbled. "God, I didn't even think that she might be traveling with a gentleman friend!"

It seemed to me that Richard was slightly depressed by that thought, so I changed the subject to something a little more distracting.

"After last evening, I think I know what you meant when you described Bridget as somewhat 'kinky... in very nice way'. I assume you were referring to her attraction to enhancement devices," I laughed.

"Oh yes, both she and Kevin seem to be obsessed by devising the ultimate toy," he chuckled.

"Well, you seemed to be somewhat 'obsessed' by Bridget last night," I chided him jokingly.

"And you weren't exactly shy when Kevin put the moves on you either, Alex. You seemed to enjoy yourself quite thoroughly in fact. I've never actually seen a woman have an orgasm so intense that she lost consciousness before," he retorted.

"And that brings up another thing that seems a little strange to me. I suspect that the three of you planned that whole scenario. How did you guys know the exact perfect moment to show up and take advantage of us?" I asked.

"Well, I confess that after watching Bridget demonstrate those machines to you, and the expression on your face when you realized the potential applications of that 'Fucking Bench', we both got a little overheated. And then, when you and Bridget got it on..."

He suddenly stopped speaking, a 'deer-in-the-headlights' expression on his face. I guess my own expression let him know that he had revealed something he probably shouldn't have.

"You were watching?... What the hell do you mean, you were watching! How were you watching?" I demanded.

Richard was silent for a moment, and then decided that truthfulness was his only available option.

"I guess I forgot to mention that every room of their house is monitored by closed circuit TV. We just sat in the downstairs lounge, sipping wine and watching the show. I will say, it was much more interesting than old "Coronation Street" reruns. Anyway, we both got so randy watching you and Bridget going at it that we decided to join in the fun."

"I'm a little irritated that I was on camera without my knowledge, but I guess it's a little like they say in basketball... no blood, no foul. I'll admit I'm actually glad you both showed up when you did. My God, I've never experienced anything that intense before," I said, letting him off the hook at least for the moment.

"Do you mean that Kevin was better than I am?"

"Perhaps... Well, every bit as good anyway," I teased him.

Knowing that he was out of trouble, at least for the time being, Richard relaxed with a look of relief.

Seeking less controversial subjects, we chatted for a while about our new business, going over our plans for getting it into operation. After fifteen minutes or so, the area outside the lounge started to fill up with arriving passengers milling about.

I scanned the room searching for Ellen. At first I couldn't locate her, but Richard finally spotted her blonde, shag-cut hair just exiting customs. I stepped out into the room and screamed her name, waving both arms wildly in an attempt to catch her attention. She quickly picked us out and waved back, smiling broadly.

Grasping the hand of a sharply dressed, sophisticated looking lady with a svelte figure and shoulder length rich brown hair, she said something to her and pointed in our direction. I waved once more, beckoning them to join us.

As they made their way through the milling crowd, Richard commented, "If that's Lynne she has in tow, I approve. She's far better looking than any Lyndon I've ever known!"

"I'm sure she will appreciate your official stamp of approval, Dickey" I chuckled.

The darker haired lady hung back a little shyly as Ellen released her hand and rushed into lounge, throwing her arms around me and hugging me tightly as she squealed in delight, then whispered in my ear, "God Alex, it's so good to see you again!"

Releasing her grip, she turned to Richard and threw her arms around his neck, pulling his head down to her and planting a wet, warm kiss on his lips. Then, holding him by his shoulders at arms length, she smiled radiantly and exclaimed, "God Dickey, its good to see you too. It's been such a long time!"

" It's been what... five... no, six years since you deserted us, Ellen. I've certainly missed you, and I'm sure everyone in our old group will be delighted to have you back also," Richard said, as he pulled her back into his arms for another kiss, longer and more passionate this time.

As they finally broke apart, Ellen turned to her beautiful traveling companion, who had been quietly observing our exuberant reunion with a bemused expression.

"Richard... Alex... This is Mrs. Lynne Andrews, a very special, long time family friend. She had to visit England on business anyway, so we decided to make it an excursion."

Lynne stepped forward with a quick smile, and grasping my outstretched hand in both of hers, said, "It's nice to finally meet you, Alex. I've heard so much about you from Ellen," smiling at me in what appeared to be a suspiciously conspiratorial manner.

"Thank you Lynne, and welcome to England, it's nice to meet you also. I hope you'll be able to stay long enough for us to show you some of the attractions London has to offer," I said, silently wondering just what, and how much, Ellen had shared with her. As Lynne turned to shake Richard's hand, I thought she was looking at him rather appraisingly.

With our introductions out of the way, we located a porter to gather their luggage, loaded it into the back of Richard's Land Rover, and departed the airport. As we turned onto the motorway, Richard asked Ellen which hotel they were staying at.

"Since Alex and I will be working fairly closely, for the next few weeks at least, I booked us a two-bedroom suite at Alex's hotel. I'm sure you remember where that is located, Dickey," she chuckled.

"Yes, I think I remember how to find that," Richard replied with a grin.

I half-turned in my front passenger seat and asked Ellen, "Did they give you a room number yet?"

"Yes, I told them, as we would be working together, I'd like it to be as close to yours as possible. I believe they told me it was directly across the corridor," Ellen replied.

"Well, isn't that handy," Richard grinned.

Arriving back at the hotel, I escorted Lynne and Ellen to the front desk, while Richard located a porter to unload their luggage. After they had registered, the porter led our merry band to the lift, and ultimately, to their suite. Ellen had indeed remembered correctly; it was located directly across the hallway from my own.

As the bellman ushered us into their suite, I noticed the management had provided a large basket filled with fresh fruit and other assorted snacks, along with dining room and room service menus. All this was placed on the lounge coffee table, along with a bottle of very expensive Champagne, chilling in a silver ice bucket.

"My God," I commented, after the bellman had departed. "I didn't rate this kind of welcome gift when I arrived!"

"It's probably because your firm booked your rooms in their name. As far as the hotel knows, we're tourists who, I would guess, would be expected to spend much more money here than would you corporate drones," Ellen laughed.

After a few moments of chatting about their trip, Richard rose and excused himself, stating that he had an important appointment he had to keep and that he would meet us later for dinner if we were agreeable.

Once Richard left, Lynne said that she was feeling the jet lag and excused herself to take a short nap. Ellen announced that she was too wired to sleep right now. Since I had some phone calls to make, I suggested that Ellen join me across the hall in my suite, where we could catch up on all the gossip without disturbing Lynne.

In my suite, I ordered a pot of coffee from room service and excused myself for a few moments while I made the necessary calls from my bedroom. When I returned a few moments later, I found Ellen and Bridget sitting on the sofa, the coffee pot on the table in front of them, chatting away like long lost old friends.

I took a seat next to Ellen and joined in the conversation. It seems that Ellen had already told Bridget the story behind how I'd happened to be at the Castle that first evening and Bridget was in the process of describing my initiation.

"My God, that was really some sight... Stark naked except for her black blindfold and men fucking her front and rear while Marianne and couple other girls assisted them... There was more but by then Kevin was so randy and I was ready to screw anything with a prick and a pulse... Anyway, Kevin dragged me away to one of those private rooms where we hooked up with another couple and we were occupied for the next hour or so. In fact, I didn't even get to meet Alex until the next day because Dickey dragged her off for an encore at his place. He can be a greedy little boy at times, don't you think?"

As Bridget finally paused to take a breath, I jumped in.

"Bridget, you're talking without commas again," I laughed.

Ellen, who looked a little glassy eyed following the verbal assault, grinned and said, "That's alright, Alex. Bridget was just telling me what a warm, friendly person you are, and how impressed she was to finally meet me. I guess I must have gained some degree of cult status in certain circles during my absence!"

"I was just going to tell her about last night, but I guess I really should be getting back to work. No rest for lowly charwomen," she sighed.

As she rose to leave, I said, "Lowly charwoman, my ass! Richard filled me in on just how destitute you and Kevin are, so let's not hear anymore of that fabrication," I laughed.

Bridget gave me a wry smile, then turned to Ellen saying, "It was nice to meet you dear, and I'm so glad you've decided to return. Why don't you plan on visiting us at home soon. Or better still, let's all plan on spending an evening at the Castle, and..."

"Bridget, you're doing it again," I warned her with a laugh.

She grinned at me and said, "I know, I'm sorry but I just got carried away I suppose. Anyway, I'll see you all later."

With that, she let herself out, still grinning broadly.

"Wow, she certainly is excitable isn't she," Ellen commented. "I think I'm going to like her though."

"Bridget is an exuberant Irish lass but she is also a very sweet person. I think she was more than a little overwhelmed by your celebrity status," I explained.

Ellen laughed at my description of Bridget, and then said, "I am looking forward to that evening at the Castle with them though."

"Enough of Bridget, fill me in on Lynne," I said. "Who is she and how did you come to meet her?"

"It's a rather sad story, Alex. Let's heat up our coffee and I'll tell you all about it," she said. As I topped off our cups, I suggested we retire to the balcony since it was turning into such a lovely day. We settled down on the patio furniture and Ellen began.

"As I said before, Lynne is a longtime family friend and we have been close for many years. In fact, she and her husband, James, lived next door to my mother and me when I was in grade school and she baby sat me many times."

"What! She was married when you were in grade school? She can't be that old," I interrupted. "How old is she anyway?"

"I'm not sure how much personal information she'd want me to divulge, and I wouldn't consider telling anyone but you, Alex. So please, promise not to tell anyone what I'm telling you today, without talking it over with her first."

"OK, you have my promise to honor her privacy, please go on Ellen," I told her.

"Thanks, I knew you'd understand," Ellen continued. "In any case, Lynne will be fifty-two on her next birthday. I know... I know... she doesn't look anywhere near that age, and lord knows she certainly doesn't act it."

"No, she certainly doesn't. From her appearance, I'd have guessed that she was in her mid to late thirties, she has no gray hairs, no crow's feet around her eyes, and God, she still has a better figure than I do," I agreed.

"Yes, she does take good care of herself," Ellen said. "But let me get back to the small part of her history that I'm privy to. Going back to when I was fourteen and we were neighbors, as you already know my dad had been killed in an accident and of course mom was an emotional wreck. During that same period, Lynne's husband had taken a new job with an expanding company and was spending most of his time traveling on business. Lynne was feeling more and more neglected. Since Lynne and my mom had been friends for years before these changes, they became even closer. Now here is the really confidential stuff. Don't breathe a word of it unless Lynn herself decides to confide in you, OK?"

"I already promised you that," I reminded her.

"Alright, sorry. Eight years ago, when my mom was dying of cancer, she told me things about her relationship with Lynne that I'd never suspected. It seems that James's and Lynne's physical relationship had always been very active and Lynne loved the sexual attention. But as the demands of James's career increased, their love life began to suffer from neglect. Sounds like a pretty common complaint, huh?"

"Yeah," I replied, "I've heard that complaint many times. Usually during the story about why one of my girl friends became divorced."

"I know, but in this case there was no chance of that happening. They were, and still are, far too much in love for that. But I digress. Mom had just lost dad, and Lynne was feeling neglected by James, so it was only natural that the relationship between mom and Lynne became even closer."

"Mom admitted to me that she'd had a history of bisexual feelings, and in college, had had what she described as a 'sinful relationship' with Alice, another female student, which lasted a whole semester. Then she met dad and fell in love with him. Considering the attitudes of the times, she and dad had kept her 'perverted indiscretions' to themselves and she had remained faithful to him until that first evening with Lynne."

"It happened one summer evening when I was away at Girl Scout camp. Mom was feeling lonely, so she went next door to visit with Lynne. When she let herself in, she found Lynne alone, curled up on the sofa quietly sobbing. When mom sat down next to her and asked what was wrong, Lynne threw her arms around her and wept uncontrollably, pressing her body tightly against moms. Mom said she'd asked Lynne why she was so upset, and Lynne answered, between sobs, that she and James had been planning a romantic week at a cabin in the wilds of northern Minnesota, but that James had called a few hours ago and said his company was sending him to Japan for three weeks, and that the planned vacation would have to be canceled."

"She was only trying to console a distraught friend, but probably because of pent up sexual urges on both their parts and the sensations evoked by the feeling of Lynne's needful body pressed so tightly against her own, things quickly got out of hand and before either of them knew it they wound up naked on the sofa in Lynne's living room. She said Lynne had been hesitant at first, but quickly became a wild woman once she got started."

"They both felt much better immediately afterward, but as the evening wore on Lynne started feeling more and more guilty, weeping about being unfaithful to James. Mom told her that what they had done wasn't a matter of being unfaithful; it was only the scratching of a persistent itch. She remembered jokingly asking Lynne if she was going to divorce James and move in with her and Lynne had answered, 'Of course not, I love James. I could never do that!'"

"'See what I mean, you weren't unfaithful to James. Nothing we did changed your feelings for him. We just scratched our itches," mom told her.

"After that their friendship became much closer, if that was possible. However, the pressure of his work resulted in poor James failing more often than he succeeded when they found the time to attempt lovemaking and soon they were down to once every two or three months. Lynne suspected that he actually volunteered for many of the trips that kept him away for weeks at a time; not because he loved her any less, but because he was so unhappy about failing to satisfy her so often."

"This is only what my mother told me on her death bed. I don't know what James and Lynne's situation is at the moment and I don't feel comfortable broaching the subject with her. My mom, however, just before she died, made me promise to stay in close touch with Lynne and to watch over her."

"When you offered me the opportunity to return to England, I of course contacted Lynne and filled her in on it. That's when she told me that her aunt in Cambridge had recently died and that she had to come over here to finalize her estate, since she was her only remaining relative. James is in Japan again and won't return for at least three weeks, so she saw this as the prefect opportunity to combine fulfilling a family obligation with a much-needed vacation. I, of course, was delighted to have such a charming traveling companion, although I was a bit miffed when a young stud approached us in the bar at O'Hare and tried to pick her up while completely ignoring me!"

"I'll bet that gave your ego a boost," I laughed.

"Ah well," Ellen grinned, "It was only fifteen minutes before check-in time so he didn't stand a chance in hell either way."

Just then the phone rang. It was Richard saying he had just finished up with his appointment but that there was another meeting that he must attend at eight this evening. He suggested that we might all have an early dinner in the hotel dining room about five-thirty, if that was agreeable with the three of us. I told him that Lynne was still sleeping but I felt sure the dining room here would be fine as we were all somewhat tired; Ellen and Lynne from their trip and I from the unexpected shortness of last night.

He agreed and said he'd be around to pick us up in about ninety minutes. Surprised, I checked my watch and discovered it was already four o'clock... We had nearly talked the afternoon away, missing lunch altogether.

"I'd better go over and wake Lynne up or she'll never get to sleep tonight," Ellen said, as she stood and stretched, trying to work the kinks out of her travel weary body.

"OK," I said, also rising. "I'll shower and dress, then join you in half an hour or so."

As Ellen departed, I went to the bedroom, stripped and stepped into the shower, letting the hot spray reinvigorate my weary body. After ten minutes of this therapy, I felt somewhat more human. Dressing quickly, I hurried across to Ellen's suite, where I found the two women sitting at the dining table, deep in conversation.

"Hi Alex, sit down and join us," Lynne said brightly, seeming to be completely rejuvenated by her nap.

"Well, Lynne, your afternoon nap seems to have worked wonders," I said cheerfully as I joined them at the table. She looked even more beautiful than she had earlier, her skin glowing and her eyes sparkling.

"Oh, I actually only slept for an hour or so," Lynne replied. "Then when I awoke I felt a little hungry, so I ordered a pot of coffee to go with the snacks the hotel provided," she replied.

"In that case, why didn't you join us across the hall," I asked.

"Well, I was planning on doing just that, but my coffee was delivered by a lovely young Irish girl named Bridget and we got to talking. I found the conversation so interesting that I'm afraid we both lost track of time. I think you're acquainted with Bridget aren't you Alex?"

"Oh yes, Bridget and I are quite close," I replied. My God, I thought, just how much had Bridget disclosed?

"I understand that you two first met at a club called the Mansion, or the Castle, or the Fort... something like that," Lynne said brightly.

"Well, that's where she first saw me I guess, but we didn't actually meet until the next day," I responded, tap dancing around the issue until I learned more about what Bridget had actually divulged. I glanced at Ellen to see if she knew where this conversation was leading but she merely raised one eyebrow and grinned at me.

"Bridget was telling me about the dining facilities at that club and how great the food was," Lynne continued. "I understand you and Ellen are both members, so I thought perhaps we could have dinner there some evening. What do you think?"

"That sounds great," I replied. "I'll call tomorrow and see about reservations." I again glanced at Ellen; now both eyebrows were raised and the grin had transformed into a smirk. I could see she was going to be a great help.

Just then Richard, calling from the lobby asking if we were ready, rescued me. The three of us joined him in the dining room where, after studying the evening's offerings, we all ordered the prime rib with Yorkshire pudding. The meal was excellent, as was the glass of port served with the meal.

Finally Richard checked his watch, placed his empty wine glass on the table and announced that he had to run, then excused himself. Since I was on expense account, I charged the meal to my room and we returned upstairs. On the way up in the elevator, Lynne announced that she thought she would like to lie down again for a while and suggested that Ellen and I spend some additional time catching up on events and discussing Ellen's new job.

Back in my suite again, I asked Ellen to get us a glass of the white wine I had chilling in the 'fridge, while I lit the gas log in the fireplace. When she had poured the wine, we settled down on the sofa across from the fire and made ourselves comfortable. Ellen leaned back, placed both arms on the back of the sofa and relaxed, saying, "God Alex, you've only been over here a few days, but I had already started to miss you so much. You won't believe how surprised and thrilled I was when you called me with the good news."

I moved closer to her, our hips touching, and rested my head on her shoulder. "I'm so glad you accepted the position, Ellen. It's great to have you here. You're going to be a valuable addition to the team I'm assembling," I said, adding, "And I missed you too, dear."

We sat silently for a few moments, staring at the flickering flames in the fireplace. The twilight was deepening and the firelight flickered, sending shadows dancing about the room. Ellen broke the spell, softly placing her fingers on my chin, turning my head toward hers and lifting my lips to her own.

"Please make love to me, Alex. God, I need you so badly," she murmured as her lips touched mine.

In answer, as her hot, wet tongue invaded my mouth, I slowly unbuttoned her blouse and pulled it aside, revealing her pert breasts enclosed in a sheer soft-cupped bra. Even in the dim light from the fire, I could see that her nipples were fully erect and clearly visible through the thin material of her bra. I slid my hand up under her skirt, then slowly moved it up her thigh. The crotch panel of her flimsy lace panties was very warm... and very damp.

With a groan, she broke off the kiss, pulled away slightly and began removing my blouse. I unhooked the front of her bra and slid the straps off her shoulders as she slipped my blouse off. Since I wasn't wearing a bra, we were both now naked to the waist. We stared at each other hungrily for a second, the firelight dancing on our skin, our taunt nipples and flushed faces proclaiming our mutual arousal.