Chapter 7

The next few days were uneventful. He went to the gym, but a pair of old men occupied the pool each morning when he finished his workout. On Friday, Franco explained that one thing that made defending yourself difficult was a fear of pain. Human's learned early that pain was to be avoided. But pain could be mastered, and even used as focus. Pain sucked, but it didn't have to be destructive and unconquerable. Franco showed Nick pain, but he showed him how to work through it, to achieve his goals in spite of it. And Franco smiled every time Nick succeeded. Even through the pain.

Monday morning, Columbus Day, and Nick was sprawled in the recliner reading the newest book by PC Cast. He took a sip of coffee just as the front bell rang. He flipped the chair upright and made his way to the door as someone knocked on the frame.

Opening the door, he was confronted by three very attractive females, one with blond hair hanging to mid back, the second a brunette who's curly hair brushed her shoulders, and the third who's hair was died in a rainbow and shaped to spikes that could put an eye out. The dangerous one spoke up first. "Put your shoes on, you're being kidnapped!"

The brunette looked at his feet, then turned to the dangerous one. "How did you know he didn't have shoes on?"

The blonde spoke up. "He never wears shoes at home."

Nick stepped aside and let the trio in. "I think I still have most of a pot of coffee if anyone's interested."

"Nope, shoes. Go!" While he went to put on shoes, the dangerous one filled an overnight bag with a suit and some fresh jeans, and another tee shirt. She opened his drawers and laughed out loud at what she found. He'd stayed with the briefs, but he'd added a few colors to his collection. She threw three pair in, and grabbed his dress shoes. He tossed a pill bottle and two inhalers on top. Meanwhile, the blond made her way to the kitchen to turn off the coffee. The brunette followed her, looking around curiously.

"So, have you been here often?" Connie asked Jean.

"A couple of times. Usually we go to my house."

Connie thought about this, trying to decide if she was jealous, finally deciding that she was a little bit. Jeanvieve turned and saw the look on the other girl's face. "Give him a chance, he'll feed you breakfast, too." Connie flashed the blond woman a grin of thanks at the reassurance.

Lydia called out, "Come on you two, we need to escape before someone notices we've taken our victim!" Nick came into the kitchen to collect his cell and a jacket, and went out to the garage to grab a pair of sunglasses.

Nick locked the door and slipped his keys into his jeans, then followed the women to the dark blue Saturn parked at the curb. Jeanvieve looked at Connie, then took shotgun to Lydia's driver. Connie and Nick shared the back seat.

"You two can get comfortable, we'll be on the road for a while." Jean stated.

"How long is a while?" Nick asked.

Lydia answered. "Depending on the highway patrol and traffic, maybe four hours."

Nick thought about this. "Ok, so where are we going?"

"We're going to see a play. Well, actually, the play's tomorrow, but we thought we'd get there early and explore."

"Ok, a play, four hours a way." He thought about this some more. "The Shakespearean festival is still running?" He asked in surprise.

Jeanvieve twisted to look at him in surprise as Connie grabbed his hand and laughed delightedly.

"I told you he was a smart sumbitch!" Lydia said.

"How did you know?" Jeanvieve demanded.

"I went down by myself a few years ago, back in the days before I had pretty girls to hang around with. If it's available, we'll have make sure we attend the "King's Feaste", that was a good time."

As Jean turned around mumbling to herself, Connie scooted close to him. "When we planned this, we decided that Jean and I would each get you in the back seat for half the drive down."

When she said this, he realized they'd all dressed for seduction. Loose skirts and peasant blouses that offered ease of access, and probably not a shred of underwear to be found on any of the three. He drew Connie into his arms and kissed her. She kissed him back hungrily as she placed his hand upon her breast, feeling her nipple harden under his palm.

"Oh god, Nick. I could kiss you for days!" She then caught his lips again, letting her tongue trace them until they parted and his came out to welcome her. As their tongues wrestled gently, she opened two buttons on her blouse and slipped his hand inside.

He'd learned in the pool that her breasts were sensitive, and she enjoyed the feel of teeth on her nipples. Now, he learned sweet kisses and gentle nipple play would bring the same result, as a shuddering climax rippled through the body pressed against him.

She pulled away and knelt on the seat, reaching for his belt. In less than a minute, she had him freed and sat back gazing at his weapon. Jeanvieve turned to look over the seat, and licked her lips. "He does have nice equipment, doesn't he?"

Lydia took her eyes off the road and took a peek, then went back to her driving. "Perfect, if you want my opinion."

Connie blushed at her friends' appraisal of Nick's cock. "This is the first time I've really seen it."

"Really?" Lydia asked. "I thought you motivated him last Monday."

"I did, but he was in the water, and you know, you can't really study things through the water. It did feel nice though."

"Want to know a secret, Connie?" Jeanvieve asked.

"I suppose so," the brunette responded.

"He tastes good, too." The little blond chuckled then turned back to the view outside the car.

Connie decided it was her duty to find out if Lydia's friend was lying to her, and bent down to lick the upright shaft before her. Nope, no lies there. Then she opened her mouth and slowly engulfed it as it quivered in response. She closed her lips around it and gently slid her mouth up and down it, caressing it with her tongue as she did so. When she decided it was well prepared, she licked the drop of pre-cum that had oozed out off the tip. "You're right, he is delicious."

Connie hiked her skirt up around her waist, revealing another absence of undergarments, as well as a well-trimmed patch of hair. Then her skirt was covering them both as she straddled him, then was engulfing his hard shaft between another set of lips. Connie moved slowly upon him, enjoying the fullness of his cock inside her, then she lay back on the seat, keeping him locked inside with her legs around his waist. "Fuck me Nick, fuck me till I scream! I want to faint with your cock in me! Oh god!!"

Ever obedient to his lover, Nick made love to her vigorously, their bodies bound together with lips and arms, pelvis and legs. And when she came, her scream was muffled by his kiss, and her faint eased in his devoted arms.

In Scipio, they stopped at a service station. Lydia and Jeanvieve led a groggy Connie to the Ladies room to revive as Nick took a moment to wash up in the men's room. While he waited for the ladies, he bought himself a bottle of Gatorade and quickly consumed the fluid as he topped off the gas tank. He strongly suspected the rest of the trip would be just as enjoyable.

When the ladies came out, Connie gave him a soft kiss and hug. "Thank you, you are wonderful. Now, I'm going to sleep the rest of the way." True to her word, she climbed in the front seat, buckled up, and resting her head on a pillow Lydia got out of the trunk, dropped off to sleep like a baby.

Jeanvieve got in the back seat with him. "We all agreed that since I'm the only that has been able to spend serious time with you before now, I couldn't have you either night. But I get you for half the trip both ways."

She snuggled against him. "Listening to you and Connie made me so wet I had to get a tissue and wipe myself. Twice, I even had to look. I know you were busy, so I wish I'd had a camera so I could show you the look on her face. She looked like an angel transported to heaven."

For the rest of the drive, Nick made Jeanvieve's trip just as rapturous.

When they arrived in Cedar City, Nick was surprised to find them booked into a Bed & Breakfast. They made their way to the reception desk and a smiling older woman greeted them. "Ahh, Mr. Essex. We've been expecting you and your companions. As you requested, we have the nicest adjoining rooms ready for you."

She smiled as she led them up to the rooms. "Such a nice man to bring his daughter and her friends to the Festival!" she thought. But as she watched them interact, she felt a bit scandalized as she realized that it certainly looked like they were all his lovers. Then she looked at the man again, and thought; "Lucky girls!"

Lydia and Nick unpacked in the first room, Connie and Jeanvieve in the second. There was indeed a connecting door between the rooms so they could pass in and out without using the outer hallway. After everyone was finished with the facilities, Nick led them across the street to the Festival box office.

Although the box office was closed, it offered a great deal of information in the display cases around it. For example, the following night there was indeed a "King's Feaste" scheduled. It ran from 4:30 till 7:00, and included a play performed throughout the meal. Lydia admitted that this would be a fine idea, that the curtain wouldn't rise until 8:00 for the play she had tickets to. Nick looked at another poster and realized they would either see Shakespeare's "As You Like It" or Gilbert & Sullivan's classic "H.M.S Pinafore". In his opinion, either one would be a pleasure.

When they were finished at the box office, they took a leisurely stroll around the Southern Utah University campus; Jeanvieve holding Lydia's left hand while Nick held her right, and Connie contentedly holding his right hand. He'd been here six years ago, in August, but classes weren't in session then. Now, the commons were filled with young people enjoying a sunny October afternoon. And more than one young head turned to watch the quartet that strolled past them. At first glance, many assumed the girls to be students showing a parent around campus. But to those who didn't simply turn away indifferently, it was apparent that the relationship of these four was definitely not familial. The way they interacted made this obvious. And more than one young man sighed with frustrated envy.

They made their way back to the B&B. The nice lady that ran the place offered her advice on a very fine restaurant, and even made them reservations for an hour later.

Because the agreement the girls had made banned Jeanvieve from Nick's bed for the two nights they planned to be in Cedar City, Nick took the opportunity to cuddle with her and make certain she knew she was also loved as the other women prepared for dinner.

While Nick showered and silently thanked the proprietors for wisely having a huge hot water heater, Lydia was touching up her make-up as Connie re-made her spikes. As she worked, she noticed the vial of pills Nick had set on the dresser, and read the label curiously. Generic glucophage. She knew that glucose was a form of sugar, so maybe it had something to do with that. Then she remembered the two inhalers he'd also tossed in his overnight bag. Maybe they'd offer additional clues.

The first one she recognized from an old roommate. An asthma drug, one her friend had used sometimes eight times a day. But her friend had been prone to frequent and dangerous asthma attacks. She'd never noticed Nick to be particularly out of breath, even after a hard workout. The second inhaler she also recognized. Her friend had used it for emergencies. So Nick was mildly asthmatic but wise enough to be prepared, Lydia thought. She decided she'd make sure the other women knew about this, and were prepared to respond if Nick had an attack. And she'd call AnnaBeth about the glucophage. She was going to watch over their Nick, she decided.

Dinner was as delightful as their hostess had promised and they enjoyed another stroll home in the cool October night. As they passed a drugstore, Lydia pulled them inside, and led them to the hair coloring section. "You know me, I love my punk look, but I feel terribly out of place here." Lydia admitted.

"This is southern Utah, sweetheart." Nick pointed out. "It may say Southern Utah University, but it's still cowboy country."

Connie grinned teasingly. "Ohhh, cowboy country! Does that mean I get to drag you guys to the bars for some honky-tonkin'?"

Lydia started to say "No way!" when Nick answered. "If we stay a third night, sure. But if we spend a third night, Jeanvieve gets her turn. Fair enough?"

Nick knew that by making this offer, he had two yay votes immediately. He also knew that both Jeanvieve and Connie understood that Lydia had the overpowering veto. Nick was a bit curious to see if she'd use it. He wasn't surprised when she didn't.

Lydia did pout momentarily, though Nick suspected more because she felt it was expected than any real unhappiness with the idea. But she perked up quickly, and put them all to work to find a more appropriate hair color. Nick was amused at how enjoyable such a discussion could be. They finally settled on a red similar to the color she wore the night they made love. It was also decided that the girls would color her hair before breakfast the next day when Nick made it clear he wasn't sleeping with her if she smelt like ammonia. He liked her priorities.

When they got back to the Bed & Breakfast, Nick spoke to the proprietress about a third night, then they agreed to call it a night, and that Nick was responsible for making sure everyone was up by 7:00, with coffee provided. Then Lydia shut the connecting door and turned to look at Nick.

She walked towards him with a sensual strut, and when she was within reach, she punched him hard in the arm. "I can't believe you'd toss me from your bed for hair dye stink!"

He caught her upper arms in his strong hands and pulled her against him, silencing her with a kiss that had her swooning in his grasp. "Ok," she sighed, "you're forgiven."

He carried her to the bed and laid her gently down, then bent to kiss her softly this time. "Lydia, I adore you, but sometimes you make it far too easy to get your goat!" She heard the clunk of his shoes hitting the floor, then he was stretched beside her and caressing her face. "There is no way on this sweet earth I'd give up a chance to love you." Then his hand was on the back of her neck and he was kissing her again. This time, she rolled on top of him and kissed back.

"Sit up, I want to undress you." She did, and he began to unbutton the peasant blouse she wore. He opened it slowly, admiring her perfect little breasts, then reaching up and running his fingertips over her nipples. "You have the most delightful breasts, Lydia."

Lydia sighed happily at his touch. Every once in a while, she was tempted to do something with her minimal bosom. Then she'd meet a man like Nick, who took genuine pleasure in what she had naturally. She knew that Jeanvieve's and Connie's were larger, and she was sure that Nick appreciated them just as much, but it still thrilled her to have him happily caressing her.

He slid her blouse off her shoulders and sat up so that he could kiss the bare skin of her neck and shoulders. Slipping her blouse off, he casually tossed it into the upholstered chair in the sitting area.

Rolling her back onto the bed, he kissed her lips again, then her chin. She giggled as he nibbled her throat, and sighed as he kissed between her breasts. She began to murmur in pleasure as he began to lick her nipples to full extension.

As he mouthed her nipples, his hands were busy at her waist, unbuttoning the two buttons that held her skirt in place, then lifting her bottom off the bed so he could slip it off her. When the skirt was gone, he released her nipple and kissed down her belly, taking a moment to blow teasingly through the patch of hair she maintained on her pubis.

Then he was lying between her legs and feasting on the damp flesh before him. She writhed beneath his exquisite assault, his tongue finding the secret spots that drove her mad with desire. Finally, she could take no more and took hold of the short hair at his temples, pulling him away from her ambrosia.

"No more, Nick! You have less than one minute to get naked and impale me with that marvelous weapon!"

Nick was naked and pressing the tip of his erection against her opening in fifty seconds, five seconds later Lydia was moaning in delight as it slid completely into her. The two lovers easily fell into a comfortable rhythm of passion, augmented by long soft kisses.

Their climaxes, though not simultaneous, were spectacular, and Lydia fell asleep content, with her lover spooned against her.

Nick woke up a few hours later to find Lydia's hand reaching back between her legs, stroking the tip of his cock as it grew. When it was fully hard, she scooted back and slid onto it silently, perhaps trying to not awaken him. She slowly rode the shaft within her until he reached around with one hand to tweak her nipple as the other hand reached down to massage her clit. Then she slammed her bottom against his groin and twisted with wild abandon on his sword, driving herself to a shattering orgasm before passing out as he filled her again with his seed.

When he awoke again, he slid out of bed and showered as silently as he could. He checked that Lydia still slept, then pulled on his jeans and carried the rest of his clothes to the hall, where he dressed after shutting the door behind him. He made his way to the kitchen, and was disappointed to find no coffee ready. He looked at his watch, and remembered the proprietress telling them breakfast was served at 8:30. It was just 6:30 now.

Oh well, he was near the university, it was sure to have a coffee shop. He made his way over to the campus, and after politely querying a couple of other very early risers, found the fountain of morning nectar, i.e. "The Coffee Shoppe". He loaded up with eight medium javas, a dozen packets of sugar, twenty canisters of creamer and a half dozen little blue and little pink packets of sweetener.

Closing the door to their room, Nick set the coffee on the table by the sitting room chair and prepared one for himself, and his beloved bedmate. Waking her with a very wet kiss, he handed her the cup as she sat up. "Finish your coffee, then go wash your hair. I'll get Connie and Jeanvieve up, and they can do your hair for you before breakfast. By the way, how does Connie take her coffee?"

"She takes hers with one and a half packs of sugar, and two of those creamer tubs." He moved to the connecting door balancing the cups. She saw him stop for a second, then enter the room. She wondered why he'd hesitated.

The reason he'd hesitated was that instead of the two women in sleepwear demurely cuddled together that he'd unconsciously expected to see, he'd seen two nude bodies sensually entwined, and before he'd been able to retreat, one of those bodies had opened their eyes and offered a smile of greeting. "Good morning, Nick." Connie said softly.

He set the Jeanvieve's coffee carefully on the table and then crossed to the bed and kissed Connie good morning as she sat up to accept his offering. "Did you sleep well?" he asked.

Connie smiled at her still snoozing companion. "Better than I expected, actually."

"I guess I should have knocked," Nick admitted, embarrassed.

Connie shrugged, and when she did the sheet slipped off, exposing her delightful torso. "It wouldn't have mattered, one of us would have just told you to come in. Don't be embarrassed, sweetie. I'm not." She took a sip of the coffee and smiled and mouthed "Perfect".

"Ummmm, me neither." Jeanvieve stretched slowly and sensually on the bed, then opened her eyes. "Good morning, lovers. Do I smell coffee?" She sat up in the middle of the bed, not bothering to cover up as she took the coffee Nick placed in her hand. "Now, can I have a kiss?" She laughed with pleasure when both Nick and Connie leaned toward her at the same time. "Hold on a sec, Nick, I'll take care of you next." She leaned over and offered Connie a semi-chaste kiss. Connie kissed her right and proper instead, and their kiss lasted longer than either of them expected as Jean reciprocated. "Wow," Jeanvieve breathed when they moved apart. Then she accepted Nick's sweet kiss good morning.

Lydia came in as Nick's lips left Jeanvieve's, her hair damp but lying close to her scalp, her bare skin still gleaming from her quick bath... "Good morning, dears! Did you sleep well?" Then she leaned over and kissed each of the women in the bed and answered herself teasingly, "Looks like it." Connie and Jeanvieve started to blush, but then realized they had nothing to be embarrassed about.

"So, how come we're all up already?" Connie asked.

"Because stinky head over there wouldn't let me share the bed if we dyed my hair last night." Lydia answered, pointing at Nick.

"Oh yeah, that's right. We should punish him for that." With those words, Nick was suddenly dodging three swinging pillows that connected with surprising regularity. But what really surprised him was that both Connie and Jeanvieve could swing accurately with one hand and drink coffee without spilling at the same time. He was finally forced to retreat to the other bedroom, where he fixed a second cup of coffee and then went downstairs to see if there was a newspaper available.

"Good morning, Mr. Essex. Did you and your friends sleep well?" The proprietress inquired.

"Yes Ma'am, we did, thank you. Is there a newspaper this morning?"

"Of course, we have the Salt Lake Tribune or the Deseret News, and you can call me Mrs. Shaunnessy, or Maggie. Will the girls be down for breakfast?"

"Yeah, they're up now, coloring Lydia's hair."

"Lydia? She was the one with the, umm, spikes? I'm afraid I didn't catch the other girl's names, either." She said this in a slightly accusatory tone. "Are they your daughters?"

Nick nodded, "And the rainbow. She said she didn't feel comfortable down here looking quite so, radical. No, they are just friends of mine that decided I needed to come to the Festival. Connie is the brunette, and the tall blond is Jeanvieve."

"No, I'm sure she didn't. Cedar City and the campus are reasonably liberal, but it is still surrounded by rural Utah. It was good of you to make reservations for them here, although usually we get a more 'romantic' clientele. So what are your plans today?"

"Actually, I'd suspect Lydia was the ringleader when they decided where to stay. I didn't know a thing till yesterday morning."

"My goodness. Reservations were made almost a month ago!" Maggie thought to herself; "And he didn't know a thing, and doesn't seem at all concerned that this Lydia has access to his credit cards, or even what their stay is costing him. Maybe I better call the credit card company and make sure the card is still good for these charges." Mrs. Shaunnessy did call the VISA office later that day, and when she explained the charges, was basically told: "If it ain't over five grand, we don't worry about that card."

Nick took the paper and went to the parlor to read while Mrs. Shaunnessy prepared breakfast for her guests. The girls came down shortly after 8:00 and split up the section's he'd already read. Nick looked over the top of the paper at Lydia, pleased with her color choice and to see the return of her tiny ringlets. At 8:30, Mrs. Shaunnessy summoned them to a breakfast of bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, hash browns and waffles. And fresh coffee.

"What did you ladies have planned for us today?" Nick asked.

Lydia admitted, "Besides the play, we didn't really have any plans. What did you do when you were down here before?"

"Well, we are near Canyonlands National Park. We could take the drive through it."

"Is that what you did last time?" Connie asked, not wanting to do something that might have bored him the first time.

"Actually, I was going to join the bus tour, but got there too late, it was all filled. I ended up taking a helicopter tour of the canyons."

All three girls looked at him in surprise. "You took a helicopter? Was it fun?" demanded Jeanvieve.

Nick nodded. "Yeah, it was a pretty fun time. But if you don't like small planes, helicopters are worse."

The girls started to discuss it quietly and Nick sat back and sipped his coffee. Maggie Shaunnessy watched as well, and quickly realized that Mr. Essex was a bystander to his female conspirators. He'd go along with whatever they decided, and likely enjoy every minute of it.

Lydia spoke up finally. "Can we do that Nick? Is it expensive?" She blushed when she realized what she'd just asked, and Nick and her friends laughed at her.

"We'll have to check. The one I went on only seated four, including the pilot. And even if I was qualified for helicopters, I've never flown the canyons, so I wouldn't try. Mrs. Shaunnessy, do you have a guide to tourist services?"

Maggie went and got him the soft cover book, and he began to look through it. "Umm, Nick," Connie interrupted hesitantly. "You say you're not qualified for helicopters. Does that mean you ARE qualified for other aircraft?"

"Ummhmm," he answered, still looking over the ads for helicopter tours. "My brother, my nephew and I all qualified and soloed our single engine light aircraft certificates in December. We're working on multi-engine turboprops now. But my Cessna should be here a week from Saturday."

Lydia put her hand in the middle of the page he was looking at, forcing him to look up. "And just when were you planning on letting us know you were a pilot, and apparently a pilot with his own plane."

Nick was smart enough to know he might be in trouble here. "Umm, probably when I asked you to fly somewhere with me." He knew it was coming, he knew they were a bit ticked at him, but still, it hurt when they all three slugged him in the arm. He rubbed it and went back to the ads, then pulled out his cell and made a few calls.

"Ok, this guy uses a six passenger chopper, so we could all sit together. He'll give us up to two and a half hours flight time, which is a very leisurely tour of the canyons. We'll need to bring our own refreshments, though. You ladies game?"

After some discussion, they decided they were indeed, game. Nick called back and made reservations for noon, then decided they needed a camera, and a cooler, and some drinks for the flight. And maybe some Dramamine. They went upstairs to gather their stuff, and in the car Nick took shotgun.

He took out the book he'd borrowed from Mrs. Shaunnessy and opened it to the map. First, he guided Lydia to the Army/Navy surplus store. "Forgot to get a hat before we left." He quickly found what he wanted, a soft camo hat with a wide brim that snapped up on the sides and a drawstring chinstrap. After some discussion, the girls decided to forgo hats for good sunblock.

Their next stop was the Circuit City store. Nick went straight to the digital cameras and spoke at length to the salesman. The camera he bought looked very much like an excellent professional camera. He also bought two 256 MB memory cards and 3 eight paks of alkaline batteries.

Gathering his ladies around him, they left the store and made their last stop at the grocery. A styrofoam cooler, a six pack of pop and six bottles of water, a couple of bags of ice, some spf 30, candy to snack on, and a box of Dramamine finished their shopping.

As Nick gave directions, Lydia drove them to the Cedar City airport, and to the private hangar of the tour guide they wanted. The pilot shook Nick's hand and complimented him on his lovely daughters. Nick was going to let the comment slide when Jeanvieve got a mischievous gleam in her eye.

"Yes, Dad, thanks for taking us in the helicopter!" Making sure they were profile to the pilot, she kissed him, making it plain to the pilot that she was using a great deal of tongue with her 'daddy'.

By the time Lydia and Connie had finished, Nick was flushed and thanking the goddess he was wearing a pair of jeans with plenty of room. And wondering if the pilot was going to be able to sit down anytime soon.

"I shouldn't have done that, but I get sick of people assuming I'm with you because you're my father. I'm with you because I love spending time with you, and I love making love with you. I'd guess Lydia and Connie feel the same way. You're our Nick, not our dad. Now, give us one of your sweet "I adore you" kisses, and we can go see the canyons."

Nick did give each of his lovers a slow, gentle kiss. "You are forgiven, but I think it's going to be a long flight for the pilot."

The girls were unrepentant. "Maybe he won't make stupid assumptions next time," was what Connie had to say.

The flight was a blast. Nick got lots of very good pictures, unlike his last trip, and the girls decided they liked flying this way. And when they landed, Nick talked the pilot into taking a picture of the four of them beside his helicopter. And the girls were forgiven for teasing him when they each gave him a chaste 'thank you' kiss.