Выбрать главу

“You have got here, Rose,” he said, “some valuable papers, unless I entirely miss my guess. There are bills which were never intended to reach the husbands concerned-bills which many of the lovelies would pay four times over rather than have them brought to the notice of their hubbies.”

“Well,” said Rose hesitantly, “it is true that some of our clients have requested me to send their accounts to an accommodation address…”

“Quite so,” said Freeman. “And some of the addresses might surprise you if you saw them. Perhaps they might be good friends of hubby's as well as wine's, but in any case I will hazard a guess that they would all turn out to be males-and potent ones at that!”

“Of course, in other cases I should be inclined to suggest that you mark off the accounts to profit and loss- were it not for one circumstance that might keep them out of the red. The men who are in ignorance of their responsibility for these bills might prove to be wealthy only in the known beauty of their wife or daughter buying the goods.”

“But there is one saving grace, my dear Rose, as far as these accounts are concerned. If sufficiently pressed for settlement-such beauty can usually be converted into cash…”

“When pressed sufficiently?” faltered Rose.

“Rather than have their families notified of their debts many of your recalcitrant clients would submit to almost any other embarrassment — say — at the hands of some good friend of yours who might be willing to assist them in their difficulty. I am sure that many of these beautiful women or girls would be so desperate under pressure that they would go where they were sent-and endure what they must-if they were told that in this way only could they obtain security.”

“But… good heavens-you are suggesting terrible- quite dreadful things…” stammered the dismayed Rose.

“I am suggesting,” he said calmly, “that you should be as nonchalant in collecting your debts as your debtors are in evading their obligations. Is there anything less… ethical-in advising one of these irresponsible women that she may obtain the settlement of her account by visiting my apartment and there earning the cheque required, than there is in her own withholding from you money which she knows you need and which is rightfully due to you?”

“Ohh! To send her-to y-you!” quavered Rose. “Then you would… then you intend to — have some of my customers…?”

“Yes! I think so…” he said thoughtfully. “Some of these young beauties listed here are fit for the bed… or the bachelor quarters of anyone in the world.”

“Ohh! But… Mr. Freeman!” wailed poor Rose. “I should hate that-so terribly-sending them to you.”

He eyed her keenly-and she blushed furiously beneath his critical gaze.

“Can it be that the lovely lady whom I have treated so cavalierly… has some thought of sufficing for me herself?” he queried with a mocking smile.

Her blush became sheer crimson… but her swift denial lacked assurance-as his perceptions told him.

“No… no-ohh… how can you say such a thing to me?” cried Rose. “As if I had the least idea of-of doing… doing anything with you that you didn't- force me to do.”

“Which reminds me,” he remarked casually, “that I told you some time ago that you would have to ask me to lie with you. I shall not insist upon that at once- perhaps the time may come when you will implore me to take your lovely body-to penetrate it-impregnate it if I wish.”

“Ohh-no… no!” clamoured the distracted woman. “You must know that I would never ask such a thing of my own accord. I submit to all these dreadful indecencies because I must-but…”

“We will pass by the obvious dispute for the moment,” he replied. “But-for venturing to discuss it with me instead of remaining silent or else acquiescing gently-you will go beneath this table at my knees-and pet me very softly at the spot where you see some indication of my physical pleasure caused by your nudity-while I continue to run through these accounts.”

Rose grew pale and all the high color ebbed from her cheeks. She slumped despairingly in her chair. And in a split second he was upon her. With a strength that amazed and appalled her, he snatched her up. Her slender ankles were grasped-and she found herself dangling head down with her hair and protesting hands sweeping the carpet “Help! Help!” she gasped-frightened almost out of her wits. Holding her thus, he shook her to and fro-her hundred and thirty pounds of splendid nudity seeming as nothing to his powerful muscles.

“Be quiet, Rose!” he ordered. “Quit wriggling and keep still. Unless you want me to march with you out of the shop and into the street? I shall do it-if you aggravate me any further!”

“Please… please,” she begged frantically, subduing her voice now for fear of his displeasure. “I will do-just as you say-only… only put me down.”

He replaced her upright, and she tottered-all her face rosy red from the rush of blood to the head.

“Underneath the desk,” he directed curtly. “And be very careful to caress me dutifully-and tenderly-remembering that touching on the material alone will not suffice…”

The bitterly ashamed woman almost scurried beneath the table, and his final words rang in her ears-telling her that her sensual complaisances were to exceed any thing that she had hitherto anticipated.

He resumed his seat-parting his knees as he sat. And Rose crept steadily to her ordained post Her fingers trembled upon his thighs, and her turbulent breathing made him smile unseen. And if his delicate touches on her secret person had previously moved Rose to her very depths, the timidity of her attack upon the buttons of his nether garments thrilled Francis Freeman to the core.

But he did not bother to issue directions to her now — much preferring to appear unaware of what was going on beneath the table-entirely confident that feminine instinct and rising passion would soon direct her in her complaisance and her caresses.

A button had been unfastened. Slowly another button met the same fate. The unavoidable touches and light pressure upon his hidden virility enchanted him-and Rose's quick breathing as her soft fingers discovered his swollen and concealed weapon informed him clearly of the effect that her actions were having upon herself.

She was motionless and silent for a moment He heard a sigh-and then a finger… two fingers-crept up to penetrate lasciviously within his nether garments. Both his trousers and drawers were invaded — very slowly and timidly. And suddenly the naked flesh of his huge staff felt the warmth and softness of appraising fingertips.

At the same instant he heard a muffled exclamation from Rose-half a sigh and half a moan of delirious excitement. And already her buried fingers were touring upon the nude sex at her disposal. She gasped in ecstasy as her fingertips moved up along the shaft. Her left hand hurried to release another button-with rapidity this time.

All her right hand entered. She was panting frantically now-and her fingers curled-they touched gingerly… they appraised incredulously. The buried hand was withdrawn. Without further delay every button of trousers and drawers was undone. And a husky little cry that was almost a sob of frenzied delight, broke from Rose's lips as the swelling sex thrust forth in all its superb nakedness. Rose was no longer the shy and modest woman who had been so swiftly converted by circumstances into the helpless chattel of a man's desires. In truth she had forgotten that this sensital submission had been forced upon her and she liked it.

But she was awed by the unexampled-and in her own small experience astonishing-magnificence of the male organ. There was timidity as well as agitation in the way she slowly closed her two hands round the naked shaft.

His own gasp of pleasure was drowned in the little cry of silvery delight which came from Rose's own throat. She clung now-clung and fondled… and her warm fingers visited ecstatically the entire extent of his masculine attributes-including in their researches the crinkled sack which housed his testicles.