Masters & Lovers Box Set One

.... And I blink open to a maid swishing open curtains. Brilliant sunlight casts across me and for a moment I hold a hand over my eyes while I adjust.

"Morning, Mr Alexanders. I wasn't sure if you would prefer tea or coffee, so I brought both." She nods down to a tray by my side with both tea and coffee pots, milk, cream and lemon. A glass of water sits by a packet of soluble aspirin. And the evening before floods back....

Oh, God....

The staff think I was drunk....

I was drunk....

"It was a good day, wasn't it, Mr Alexanders?" she smiles. "A good time had by all. And such a lovely couple. Would you like me to bring you some breakfast here, or would you prefer the dining room?"

"I'll go to the dining room, thanks." I stand, creaking a bit in my bad leg, so I walk around the room to ease out the knots.

Marie...

Oh, Christ. Did I really say that?

Alarm battles with disbelief, and then I simply laugh to myself.

That should have seen her off for good.

Then another memory jolts back.

Beth....

.... Richard....

Jeez....

Did I say anything inappropriate to them?

And I have no idea.

Time to face the music...

.... If there is music to be faced....

I knock back a black coffee, quickly shower and change into a fresh shirt and pants, then head for the dining room for more coffee and some juice.

Some of the tables are already taken, one by Ben, apparently happily chatting with Marie next to him. Laughing and joking with her, he looks entirely different, much more like his easy-natured brother. But as he sees me, he lapses into a scowl, and Marie gives me an acid look.

I choose a table at the far side of the room but don't order breakfast. Michael and I discussed that in advance. I do check with the duty-manager that my arrangements are in place.

And with that thought, the gloom settles again, but I set my mobile on the table-top and wait.

Richard and Beth appear only a few minutes later, both wearing cheerful expressions, smiling when they see me.

Looking good....

.... Didn't make a complete ass of myself then....

I gesture to the other chair at my table. "Good morning. Slept well? There's plenty of coffee in the pot if you would like some."

Richard glances at my coffee and juice. "Are you having breakfast with us?"

"No, just this for now, but don't let me stop you. Michael located an excellent chef who turns out a very good eggs benedict with smoked salmon, which I can recommend." Richard is a bit tentative. "How are you feeling this morning? We thought you might...."

"I might have a hang-over? Mmm.... I deserve one, don't I? But no, I'm fine..." In fact, physically, I'm great. But.... "Thank you, both of you, for sitting with me last night."

He smiles. "What are friends for?"

And my phone chings with Michael's avatar....

As we agreed....

"Please excuse me," I say. "I'll see you both in a while." I raise a hand to the waiter, pointing upstairs. Nodding understanding, he vanishes through the swing doors and I head for the lift, leaving Richard and Beth exchanging startled glances.

*****

We arranged this, and Michael has been as good as his word, contacting me at the first sensible moment. So, as I take the breakfast trolley from the waiter, wheeling it to the honeymoon suite, I shouldn't feel like this.... .... but I do....

Nerves jangling, I tap at the door.

The reply is instant. Michael's voice. "Come in."

What will I find?

Everything different?

My Jade-Eyes....

.... Mrs Summerford....

But it's not fair on them for me to show it, so I plaster on a smile and push the door open with the trolley, to see the pair sitting up in bed. The wedding dress is a tumble of white draped over a chair. Silky undergarments are laid on a table. Michael, leans back, his hands clasped behind his head, Charlotte has the sheet pulled up to cover herself, but beams as she sees me.

"Master!" She reaches for me, the sheet falling away, exposing her breasts, and I stoop to kiss her quickly on the lips. She smells of sex and Michael....

.... and I keep smiling.

"Good morning, Mrs Summerford, Mr Summerford. Breakfast for three as ordered. You want it in bed, or shall I set it out on the table?"

"Oh, on the table, I think," says Michael. "Let's all be comfortable." He swings out of bed, snagging a robe. "You've brought enough to feed ten," he says as I transfer dishes from the trolley to the table.

I should find the comment funny. He's right. I ordered plenty, bearing Charlotte's Olympic appetite in mind. But I can't find the humour, and the scent rising from the dishes leaves me a little queasy. Charlotte bounces naked out of bed and to the bathroom. "Just gonna brush my teeth."

As the door closes behind her, Michael lowers his voice. "James, Thanks for last night. I realise it must have hard on you."

My throat is tight. I nod, returning my attention to setting out the table.

A pause... And then, still speaking quietly, but in much brighter tones, Michael says, "I was thinking...."

I'm irritable. I'm doing exactly what we agreed to do, but....

.... I don't feel as I expected to feel.

"Mmmm?"

"It's a lovely day out there," he continues. "After breakfast, why don't we all go for a walk around the lake. By the time we get back, most of the rest of the guests will have gone or be going, and we'll get some privacy...." Where's this going?

... But privacy would be good....

I want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head.

Be polite.....

I turn to him. "And...?"

"And..." He grins.... "I thought you might like to show Charlotte your.... er.... facility downstairs."

And, just like that....

.... Everything's alright....

.... Nothing has changed.....

Michael's grin is infectious, spreading to my face too. "Now there's an idea." I jerk a thumb at the bathroom door. "Does she know about it yet?"

"No, the last of the.... um.... fittings only went in a day or two back. I had to wait until she was out to do it.... Couldn't really put the carpenters and builders on that job, could I?"

So I can transfer the toys downstairs....

.... That'll give me a lot more room in my desk....

And I laugh, for sheer joie de vivre. "No, probably not. So, you've managed to keep her out of there?"

He flashes conspiratorial eyebrows at me. "Mmm, yup. Kept it locked and made excuses for not having the keys on me. She thinks it's just the laundry and boiler room."

Inside me, something sings. "Mmm... the day's looking pretty promising already."

"Good...." Michael's smile fades. "James...."

"Mmm?"

"Nothing has changed. You know that too, don't you?"

My friend....

"I do now, yes."

The bathroom door bangs open and Charlotte, now also in a robe, sets sail for the table like a knight sighting the Holy Grail. "Right... What have we got? I'm starving...." She claps her hands together then clatters through tureens and serving dishes, identifying the contents.

Michael and I both crack out laughing. "Yes," I say. "Nothing's changed."

Nothing....

And now I know... I know... my bizarre, counter-intuitive, three-cornered plan has worked. I have the woman I love, so much younger than myself. And I won't lose her to my old age, because someone else, a much younger man, will be there too, to keep her happy when I no longer can.

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I pull her into my arms, swinging her around before holding her and simply....

.... looking at her....

Charlotte's face turns serious as she holds my eyes. Those eyes, deep and green and brilliant with emotion. I pull her closer and her hand slides up my cheek as we kiss.

My Love....

Mine....

Then, conscious of Michael waiting close by, I break away. "Yes, as you say, breakfast."

Time to celebrate....

And I really feel like celebrating. I can't keep the grin from my face. Reaching into the ice bucket, I fish out the bottle. "It's a bit early for champagne, but I thought buck's fizz would go down nicely." And it does, citrus and bubbles complementing cereals, devilled kidneys and laughter.

Everything I ever wanted....

When even Charlotte's furnaces have been stocked with enough fruit, eggs and extra toast to halt an army....

How does she eat like that and never put on an ounce?

Plenty of 'exercise'....

..... we settle down a bit.

I've been looking forward to this moment.

I take an envelope from my pocket, passing it to Michael. "This, by the way, is my wedding present to the pair of you."

He looks a little surprised but gulps back the last of his fizz. He cuts it open the envelope with a knife, wiping butter and marmalade in equal amounts on the paper, extracts the contents.... .... and reads....

For a long moment his face is a blank, then he scratches an eyebrow, clearly puzzling....

.... then his jaw drops.

He leans in, towards the paper, clutching it in both hands as he re-reads. "James...?" His glance is almost fierce, but I'm not about to be cowed.... The final piece of the jigsaw....

".... James, you paid off the mortgage? You can't. It's too much."

And with Richard's investment in the hotel, that should see them right for life....

And I dismiss it. "No. It isn't. I know it was important to you when you bought this place, that it was your gift to Charlotte...." I nod across to her, her own eyes widening now as she listens.

".... Which is why I didn't interfere then. But I know you overstretched yourself doing it. My gift to Charlotte.... to both of you, is to see that Charlotte has a husband who isn't too tired from overwork to fuck her as she deserves.... And since I'm living here too...."

Fuck you, Ben....

".... it's only fair that I contribute."

Michael's mouth flaps. It doesn't suit him. "James.... I don't know what to say...."

Then he stops in mid-sentence, looking back at the sheet. "Hang on...." He waves the paper at me. "James. How did you get this? It's a downloaded mortgage statement. No-one should have been able to get this, except me." As if you have to ask....

I scratch my face....

.... Need a shave....

".... Yes, well, your account wasn't exactly difficult to hack. You might think about upgrading your passwords...."

Exasperation flits across his face, then he huffs, holds up his hands. "James, you're impossible. But thank you. So much."

Charlotte leans in, trying to see the page. He passes it to her and as she reads, her mouth makes an O. "Master.... It's such a lot...."

"No, it isn't." Pensive for a second, "I'm a rich man. Where else would I spend my money, except with my family?"

Anything I can give you....

Anything at all....

And her eyes meet mine....

My Love....

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.... Then shift to Michael's....

.... My friend....

And she takes my hand and his, holding both together. "Yes, that's right. We're a family, aren't we."

Michael's eyes are soft, his voice quiet. "That we are," he says. "Perhaps not the standard nuclear family, but a family nonetheless."

"I've never had a family before...." She all but shudders the words. ".... not a real one. Just the foster family and they didn't like me much." Then they didn't know you....

But I consider her words. "Mmm. Now you put it like that..." I sigh... ".... It's a long time since I had a family, and that was hardly a success either...."

My throat is tight. I shouldn't be embarrassed by it, but I am. And Charlotte is gulping a bit, also seeming to find something else to look at.

Enough....

I raise my glass. "To family."

They both smile, clinking their own glasses together.

"To family."

"To family."

And quiet falls again.

Lost for words....

Lost in the moment.....

Michael breaks the silence. "Um, there's a few things I need to check up on. Make sure that things are being cleaned up in the hotel. I'll be back in a bit."

It's not subtle, but I know what he's doing. He catches my eye, nodding me towards her, then walks briskly out, leaving me alone with my Jade for the first time in over a day.

The door has barely closed before she has turned to me. "Are you alright, Master? Really alright? Yesterday..."

I stand, pulling her up with me, holding her close as I press my face into her hair. "Shhh... I'm fine. I just let my imagination run away with me." Then trying to sound more cheerful, "Did you and Michael have a good evening?" "Yes, Master. It was wonderful. It was.... very beautiful. I thought you might...."

"It was your wedding night. Yours and Michael's night. And I'm glad it was beautiful. It's what I wanted for you. After what happened on your first wedding night."

She pulls away, looks up into my face. "It was your wedding too." She nods toward the door. "And Michael wanted us to have this."

"Yes, he did." I take a breath, trying to choose my words. "Charlotte, you took vows with Michael yesterday, but you have mine also. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes, Master." Her palm cups my cheek. "And you have mine."

"Good. Because although I will never be able to marry you in the eyes of the law, you are as much my wife as was ever the case in my first marriage. More so, because I understand now, things I did not then. I know this will last between us." Her eyes are shining. "Always, Master. Always." Then, standing back, she looks me up and down, reaching for the top button of my shirt. Her eyes shift to mine, hesitating until I, with the smallest of smiles, permit it....

She slips open the button, and the next....

.... and the next.

As the soft cotton falls open from my chest, the warmth of her breathing kisses the skin. She's still wearing the pearls in her hair; tiny seeds plaited into her tresses. The narrow braids sway with her movement, an opal shimmer against the amber gleam of her hair.

"Are you keeping those?"

She blinks. "Master?"

"The pearls."

She pauses, a deer startled by some unknown sound. "Do you like them?"

"I like them very much."

"Beth did it for me. And yes, if you like them, I'll keep them, at least for a few days."

So slight a touch, but it sets my heart pumping and the pressure at my groin rising.

Her palms flat on my chest, she slides hands up my shoulders, taking the shirt over and off. Leaning in, she kisses my chest....

Her eyes drop to my belt, then once more rise to meet mine. I only smile down, waiting.

Unbuckling my belt and unzipping me, yet again, she looks up, the whites of her teeth pearly against her lips, then easing me free, she drops to her knees and takes me in her mouth.

It's instinctive, the reaction. My head drops back, eyes squeezing tight, a shudder running through my chest. Her heat scalds around my cockhead, then her tongue laves down and along the shaft, and back up again.

Christ!