The New Rakes (16 page)

‘Let’s try that again,’ called the engineer, and the song broke apart, sputtered to a pause and started again.

The intro played out, but Kara held off. She was waiting. At last, when they’d repeated the refrain twice already, Tam looked up.

‘Lick your lips,’ Mike said in a low voice.

Kara hesitated, then did as he said, flicking her tongue over her top lip and biting down on her lower. Tam continued to play the melody, watching her now from under his dark brows.

‘Don’t forget to sing, Kara,’ Mike reminded her.

Although her voice caught in her throat, she obeyed him, forcing the words out with a voice much huskier than usual. It was about Tam, for Tam, and she’d always sung it with him in mind. Only this time it was different. When she sung about being as wet as silk, she felt it. Between her legs and in her very centre, just below her heart.

‘Touch yourself,’ Mike said.

His words blazed in her mind and her hand flew automatically to her neck. She stroked her pulse point, felt the tremor of her voice as it rose in her throat.

‘Lower,’ he insisted.

Kara let her hand slide down over the swell of her breast.

‘That’s good,’ Mike said. ‘You’re listening well.’

Kara could hear the sweet irritant of certainty in his voice, like an over-sugared drink she couldn’t stop sipping at. She stroked light circles over her breasts, cursing Mike even though it felt good.

‘Do it harder. Rub your nipples.’

Closing her eyes, Kara scuffed the point of her tit with her palm and gave herself little zings of sensation.

‘Make them stiff,’ Mike said, his voice gaining an edge. ‘Let Tam get a good look at you. Let him see how horny you are.’

Kara’s voice nearly broke as she played with herself, knowing that Tam was watching her, sure that he was just as keenly aware of her body as Mike. Desperate, she pinched herself hard, twisted
a
nipple between her thumb and forefinger. Somehow, she thought, a little jolt of pain might fix the rising agitation she felt, or soothe the hunger of her sex, or satisfy Mike. Her nipples burned, the pain white hot and achingly good.

‘Now drop your hands. By your sides. Let him see you.’

As the song finished, Kara opened her eyes and dared to look at Tam.

At least she’d caught his attention. His gaze was stuck on her breasts and his mouth hung slightly open, those delicate lips parted just enough that she could see the edge of his teeth. This was a Tam she recognised and the realisation sent hope shooting in sparks straight from her heart. Was he as turned on as he looked? She imagined his cock straining against the backboard of his guitar, his balls tightening like a fist. She wanted to lean into him right there and then, let him take her nipple in his mouth and trap it between those sharp white teeth.

‘OK, guys, let’s move it on. “Sweet Street”, from the top.’ Mike’s voice broke rudely into the moment.

Bastard! Kara thought. Tam swallowed and averted his face, frowned as he fiddled with the tuners on his guitar.

‘Tam,’ Mike said, and Kara’s heart tripped a beat. ‘We’re not picking you up so well. Could you stand up and move closer to the mike?’

As he moved, Kara caught a slight scent of Tam – his own mix of hot skin, coffee and Dax-wax coconut. She wanted so badly to walk up and bury her face in his chest, feel the springy muscle under her cheek and inhale that smell deeply. But Mike wasn’t finished yet.

‘Bring it up a little higher – I want the fret board right up tight for a moment, just to check the levels.’

Tam shouldered his guitar and lifted it towards the microphone that hung from the ceiling. Instantly Kara’s eyes dropped
to
his crotch. Under the seam of his jeans, his cock curved hard against his thigh, sticking out bluntly and stretching the denim. As he strummed a few notes, Kara resisted the urge to reach out and touch him. Not here, not now, she said to herself. Not when it’s part of one of Mike’s twisted games.

At least she knew she still had the power to get him hard. That must mean he still wanted her, on some level. For the moment, that was enough.

‘That did the trick,’ Mike said, apparently as aware of Tam’s hard-on as Kara was. She felt ashamed, suddenly, to be sharing his voyeurism. What she and Tam had was complicated, but it wasn’t something she wanted to share with anyone else.

‘Don’t like me looking at your fuck-buddy?’ Mike said. ‘Wouldn’t you even like to see me bend him over and take him?’

Kara’s heart caught in her chest. The room seemed airless suddenly, as close and hot as a sauna. She could picture it so clearly. Mike had a way of turning his words into pictures in her head and at that moment she could see Tam gritting his teeth, picture the way his face would screw up as Mike’s cock nudged at his asshole.

‘I need a break,’ she said heavily, tearing the headphones off and leaving them swinging from their tether. She crashed across the hall and into the bathroom, running to the sink. For a few moments she breathed out through her mouth, trying to calm her breathing.

Behind her, the door swung slowly open.

‘Cooling off?’ Mike asked. ‘Or were you just about to jam your hand down your knickers?’

Kara whirled around and would have run straight back out if Mike hadn’t been blocking her path. He shifted so that his wide shoulders filled the door frame and crossed his arms.

‘I’m impressed.’ Mike said.

‘I’m delighted,’ Kara replied, making an ineffectual effort to push him out of the way. But he wasn’t letting her go. He stood immovable in front of the door.

‘You’re insatiable, aren’t you? Such a horny little slut.’

His words stung, but something in Kara responded to the harshness of the phrase. She blushed, and it wasn’t lost on Mike.

‘Oh, you like that too, don’t you?’ Mike’s face grew sober. ‘Undo your zip. Take your skirt down.’

Kara looked at him coolly. She could refuse. Of course she could. But for some reason she found she was pinned to the spot, unwilling to give in and unable to tear herself away.

‘What, you’re scared someone might see us? There are not many people in the building that haven’t had the pleasure already, Kara. Or are you just shy?’ His voice was as mocking as a playground bully.

Of course that was the quickest way to make her react. As soon as he taunted her, the rebellion flared in Kara’s chest and she got reckless.

She popped the button on her skirt and tugged it open. She was naked underneath – yesterday’s knickers were stuffed into the bottom of her handbag.

Swiftly, Mike moved to her and stuck his hand down the front of her skirt. His middle finger slid expertly between her lips and dabbled in the wetness that had gathered there. He hooked his finger inside her. Made a beckoning motion that pressed against her pubic bone, and reached for her clit with his other hand.

‘This is what you need, isn’t it? Good girl,’ he said, as Kara sagged against him, clinging to his arm. He tugged firmly at a tuft of her hair and pulled her closer in to him until she moaned out loud.

‘You just want to be fucked, don’t you?’ he murmured,
pinching
her clit and rubbing it. ‘You wouldn’t care who it was, just as long as they were inside you.’

His fingers had found a rhythm now and played it, dipping in and out of her, flicking her clit back and forth.

‘Cock, tongue, fingers,’ he chanted in her ear. ‘Tam, Jon, Judy.’

Kara clutched at his shoulder, nearly doubled over with want and arousal. Mike’s words made her head spin, but the combination of his filthy whispered speech and the insistent way his hand worked at her kept her nailed in place. If he’d let go of her, she would have fallen.

‘Whose cock are you going to chase tonight, Kara?’ He doubled his fingers inside her, filled her with searching flesh. ‘Tam’s? Are you in love with him?’

As he questioned her, Mike pushed his thumb hard against her clit. It was like he’d flicked a switch – the orgasm sprang up out of nowhere and shook upwards through her body. It felt like she was breaking apart as she came into his hand, there in the dimly lit bathroom on the tiled floor. Her mouth stretched open against his shirt and she sucked at it, knew she was leaving a damp stain but couldn’t stop herself.

Afterwards, Mike withdrew his hand from her and washed in the basin.

‘You’d better get back in there,’ he said. ‘We’ve got a lot still to do.’

Her legs were weak and she was flushed and sweaty, but Kara knew Mike had won this battle. She nodded mutely and retreated to the studio, put on her headphones and faced the booth so that she wouldn’t have to look at Tam.

The blush on her cheeks faded, but when she looked up through the glass she saw Mike and the damp spot blooming on his shirt like a badge. A victory medal, she thought. Reminding her he’d won.

For the rest of the session, Tam played his parts note perfect
and
tight, never missing a beat and never saying a word in between tracks. Kara listened for something in her headphones, some clue as to how he was feeling, but heard only static. She sang with her eyes shut, concentrating on the tunes and not thinking about the meaning behind the words at all.

14

IT WAS AFTER
midnight when they wrapped up. Kara’s throat was hoarse and she felt ready to drop. She crammed a chocolate bar in her mouth to perk up her blood sugar and collapsed onto a chair in reception, staring out through the glass wall. Outside the park across the street was dark, only the lit-up towers of the old churches on top of the hill showing up beyond the trees. Mike, Jon, Tam – everyone else was still in the studio, listening to the playback of the songs they’d worked on.

Part of Kara knew she should go back to the flat and try to talk to Ruby, explain how the photos had been a set-up. But she was dog-tired and so wrung out she couldn’t face the thought of an angry flatmate and an empty bed. At least there was no sign of Lina in the office. She’s done what she needed to do, Kara thought bitterly.

Tam walked out of the live room and across reception, wearing his parka buttoned right up to the neck.

‘You’re heading home,’ Kara said. For a moment, she imagined walking back along the night streets with him, dropping onto his bare mattress and the two of them curling up together to sleep. Maybe she could, she thought. Maybe one night didn’t have to mean anything.

‘Yes,’ Tam said, pulling earphones out of his pocket and slipping them on.

‘Maybe I could come …’ Kara’s voice trailed away. She hated how she sounded – small and uncertain. Needy. This was not the way she and Tam worked. They snapped at each other,
cracked
stupid jokes. They were never this polite. Kara pressed her lips together. She’d crossed a line, played the game wrong and she knew it. Tam had a hard look on his face.

‘I’ve got company,’ he said shortly.

Kara felt as though he’d slammed a door in her face. The chocolate in her mouth tasted far too sweet, sickly and cloying. Tam was turning his phone on and checking for messages. Kara saw a flicker of pleasure pass over his face as he read the display, noticed his mouth curl, just for a moment.

‘Sure,’ she said. ‘Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.’

Who is it?
she wanted to scream. Tam slipped his phone back in his pocket and pulled his hood on as he turned for the door. Kara wanted to leap up and grab him, stop him from going back to his flat to meet whoever was waiting for him. For a moment, she imagined herself throwing a full-blown hysterical tantrum there in the cool, well-designed lobby. She curled her toes inside her shoes instead, forced herself to sit rigid and still on the chair as he left.

Behind them, she heard voices as the others left the studio and pulled the doors shut. Mike was talking to Jon, loudly, something about chords and keyboard technique.

Kara watched silently as Tam pulled the door open and let in a blast of cold air. He slipped out into the night, not looking back, and the voices behind her moved closer in a wave of distracting noise. Kara turned to meet them.

‘Want a lift?’ Mike said coolly, and she found herself nodding before she’d even thought about what that might mean. Jon disappeared without saying goodbye, and Kara followed Mike to his car in silence.

She buckled herself into the passenger seat and felt the soft leather chill her back.

‘Where am I taking you?’ Kara could hear the smile in Mike’s
voice.
She hesitated. Where was she going? To face Ruby? To run after Tam?

‘My place, then,’ Mike said, slipping the car into first and pulling away. He drove fast over the icy roads and Kara felt the wheels slide uncertainly every time they turned a corner.

‘Are we going to be alone tonight?’ she asked eventually. In the glow from the dashboard lights, she saw Mike smile.

‘Yes. Judy has other plans.’

Kara nodded. She focused on the lit-up road in front of them, the brake lights of the car in front, and tried to keep her voice neutral.

‘Are you two in some kind of relationship?’ she asked.

‘Some kind,’ said Mike, ‘but probably not the kind you mean.’

Mike’s house was cold, the fireplace a mess of ash and cinders and the air still tinged with the smell of wood smoke. Kara shivered as she looked at the sofa.

‘I’m sleeping here?’ she asked, dropping her handbag on the floor. She was so tired she’d have slept in the car. Mike came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. He kissed her neck, laying his dry lips on the tender skin at the base of her scalp.

‘You’re cold,’ she said, as he pushed her hair aside and trailed the tip of his tongue across her throat.

‘You did well today,’ he said, dragging her arms out of her coat. Kara shrugged to help him. ‘It can’t have been easy. I know you and Tam have a history.’ Mike thrust his ice-cold hands under her top and felt her breasts, making her nipples shrink instantly into hard points.

Kara sighed. ‘“History” being the operative word,’ she murmured, standing quite still as Mike worked at her, his touch
gentle
and persistent. This was how he got her, she realised. He always gave her the unexpected. What she wanted, before she even knew she wanted it.