Forfeits

Forfeits - Chapter 6

Afterwards, Rhona was a model of efficiency. It took an hour to fashion a thin, metal, inner sleeve and I was then left to my own embarrassment as I used ice to shrink my manhood so that the sleeve could be slid inside the tube. She assured me that it would cause no more distress than I was already suffering and that, thin as it was, it would do the job of preventing the tube from becoming tighter closed. In a perverse show of fairness she refused to take any money and smiled as she said that she had been more than adequately rewarded.

After I left the shop I took the short drive to the coast and then I began to walk. I must have walked for nearly three hours and, in that time, I did some very serious thinking. The step I was proposing to take was drastic but now that it was clear in my mind I found a new sense of purpose. It was late afternoon and I found a pub and sweet-talked the landlady into putting together some cheese rolls which I enjoyed with a couple of pints of real ale. As I sat and sipped slowly I wondered if this particular enjoyment was another sign that I was approaching middle-age with more equanimity than my erstwhile friends.

I checked my watch, judged that the time was right, and then I set off back. The house that I wanted was about five miles from my own and, as I drove up, I was pleased to see that there were lights on. I had to ring three times before the door was answered and when it was it was clear what had caused the delay. Mark stood in the doorway looking hot and disheveled in a hastily donned silk dressing gown.

“Pete! A bit of a surprise…is it anything urgent?”

“We need to talk.”

“Well…um…it’s not altogether convenient right now.”

I took him by surprise as I pushed by him and strode purposefully into the lounge. Adele, looking equally disheveled, was sitting on the sofa in a matching gown and it did not take a great stretch of the imagination to see what I had disturbed.

“Hi Adele. I came to speak to Mark.”

Mark came into the room behind me and shrugged his shoulders at his wife. She in turn looked at me.

“Do you want me to leave the room?”

“That’s entirely up to you.”

She hesitated for a moment and then decided to stay where she was.

Mark smiled and tried to defuse the stilted atmosphere.

“Take a seat.”

“I’ll stand thanks. It’s probably easier if I come straight to the point. I want to know why you made the tube and I want you to remove it.”

Mark seemed at a loss for a moment and then looked at Adele before replying.

“What makes you think I had anything to do with it?”

“Don’t bullshit me Mark! I know it was put together by someone who knows metals, and not just everyday metals, who do you think that might be Mark?”

He did not rise to the sarcasm but I could see from his expression that he knew the game was up. I did not know exactly what his job title at the University was but I knew that he lectured in engineering and materials design. I also knew that he was involved in some way with defence contracters but he had never been very forthcoming about this particular aspect.

My anger was threatening to boil over, now that I had the tacit confirmation that I was seeking, and I found it hard to keep my voice down.

“Just what the fuck is this all about.”

Again he checked with Adele and then, to my surprise, he answered with an anger that matched my own.

“It was a punishment Peter.”

For a moment I was a loss for words. I guess I was expecting to hear the word “joke” or “forfeit”. Mark could see my confusion and when he next spoke it was at the same time both accusatory and almost apologetic.

“We all know about the punting fund Peter.”

I was surprised and incredibly relieved to hear that it concerned something so simple but given my recent determination I was now caught in a quandary. The eight of us had set up the punting fund at University. We each agreed to pay a small proportion of our grant into the fund and then we invested in various stocks and shares. Those were the heady days of rapidly rising markets and we used to have fun, once a month, sitting round deciding how and where we would invest. Punting funds amongst groups of friends were growing in popularity and in common with other groups we formed ourselves into a club and signed up to a set of rules which the stockbrokers recommended as a means of mutual protection. After we left University we kept it up each paying a modest, but steadily increasing, monthly sum into the fund as our salaries rose and over time our portfolio had come to be worth a very tidy sum. If truth be told, the others took less and less interest in choosing investments as time went by and it was left to me as the industry specialist to keep it ticking over.

“What’s your problem? The fund’s worth more than it’s ever been.”

“That is the problem Peter. It’s worth far too much. You invested in Elnet didn’t you?”

I had no idea how he knew or just how much. I had to try and bluff.

“We took a joint decision not to do that and I couldn’t do it by myself.”

“Unless you faked Claire’s signature on a cheque….”

He had to be guessing, he could not know for sure.

“…You told us yourself that it would be considered as insider trading and we all agreed that we wanted no part of it.”

“We couldn’t lose! The share price rise was a certainty and as long as we appeared to be a group of lucky amateurs there wouldn’t be any suspicion.”

“Peter, listen to yourself. If it did come out then you would lose you licence and almost certainly get a prison sentence. The rest of us would be tarred with the same brush and we’ve all worked too hard at our careers to throw them away for the chance of a one-off windfall.”

“That’s a windfall of three-quarters of a million!”

The words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself and Marks face showed more fury than I had ever seen.

“So Claire was right. You did bloody well do it!”

There now seemed little point in denying it and so I tried a different tack.

“Didn’t you hear me? Because of that deal our little fund is now worth more than a million. Are you going to turn your nose up at your quarter share?”

Adele got to her feet clearly trying to fight down her anger.

“Yes we are. We want no part of this. We’ll go to the police if necessary!”

“Don’t be stupid! It’s easy money.”

Mark took a half step to place himself partially in front of Adele in an unconsciously protective stance.

“There’s more to life than money. My work for the government means that I have to stay whiter than white and what about Claire, what about her ambitions if this should come out?”

He was right. Any chance that Claire might have had of becoming a judge would be completely gone. I suppose I had been enthused with a sense of my own cleverness. It never entered my mind that I would not get away with it but I did not, for a moment, think that they would turn down the money once the deal was done. In the next few seconds it became clear to me that the idea I had formulated earlier in the day was the only way out. If they had all developed consciences more fool them. I would take the money and make a fresh start. I would go to Canada first and later the States. I knew the markets there and I knew that I could get the money to work for me. It was about time that I began to look to myself instead of pampered uncaring clients. I just needed a couple of days to get things together. The profits from the deal were already in an offshore account; I needed to keep the figures off the punting fund statements and I wanted to wait for the dust to settle before I brought my friends what I regarded as great news. Then there was the fund itself. It was just sitting there; all it needed was two signatures and Claire’s had been all too easy to forge the first time.

“Look, I can’t give the money back. I’ll make an anonymous donation to charity if you like. Just tell me how to remove this bloody thing and we’ll say no more about it.”

Adele seemed even angrier.

“And you think that will fix it? It could still be traced. You’ve got to make a clean breast of it and take your chances.”

“Adele, be reasonable, would you like to see me in prison?”

“You deserve it!”

I saw then that she was in total earnest and I felt a cold sweat across my body. I just needed two days.

“For God’s sake, we’re friends, you know I’d do anything for you. Just give me a break.”

For a few seconds there was an awkward silence and then a most extraordinary thing happened. Adele leant forward and whispered into Marks ear but, at the same time, her hand slipped around his waist and disappeared into the folds of his gown. I had always regarded her as somewhat straight-laced and always had the sense that she was hiding her embarrassment whenever any of our group activities grew too ribald.

Mark half turned to look at her.

“Are you sure hon?”

“Why not?”

There was now no doubting just where her hand had come to rest and she kept it there as she addressed me once again.

“I guess you know what you interrupted. We were discussing fantasies…and we got a little carried away. Oddly enough I was asking Mark if he had ever fantasized about having sex with another man … it seemed to get him quite excited. “

Mark broke in indignantly.

“That’s not fair. I told you that the thought of touching another man was revolting.”

“That’s not quite true…you said you might not be averse to another man to giving you a blow job.”

“Don’t even think about it!”

I pointed at her threateningly even as I spat out the words but Adele remained unfazed. With a deft flick of her wrist she cast aside the folds of Marks gown to reveal her hand encircling his burgeoning erection.

“It’s your choice Peter. Just this one little thing and then you can walk out of here free of the tube and free from the fear of prison.”

“You’re joking right? This is your idea of a joke.”

Adele smiled wickedly.

“Well I guess there’s only one way to find out isn’t there?”

I turned away in disgust. If needs be I could cut and run with the money in twenty-four hours and I was pretty certain that the police would not begin an investigation that quickly. It would mean leaving a lot of things up the air but did it matter? It was as I approached the door that the sickening thought hit me. Whilst I remained imprisoned in the tube I could not use an airport! I turned back to face them.

“Okay, take this thing off and I’ll do it.”

“Take it off and watch you run? I don’t think so.”

In the next few seconds different scenarios flashed through my mind with aching rapidity. A year ago I would have taken my chances in court but the financial services regulators had been showing their teeth recently and I was in no doubt that if it came up before a judge it would result in a custodial sentence. There was no way I could face that. Prison would kill me, especially in the knowledge of the alternative that I would be eschewing.

Adele was asking me to do the thing in life that was probably the most distasteful to me but, if I was to start afresh, I had no choice. I knew I was lost as I found myself rationalizing the situation, telling myself that I would never see them again and, after this, I could buy any woman that I wanted. She must have seen something in my eyes that showed my surrender.

“Come here and kneel.”

I felt disembodied as I moved forward and, as I came to my knees, I found myself shaking almost imperceptibly.

“Look, I think he’s frightened.”

Even as she mocked me she continued to stroke Marks erection which was now just inches from my face. In reality, he was no bigger than me but, from this new and degrading vantage point it seemed a frightening prospect to contemplate.

“Shift closer.”

It took an enormous effort of will to do as I was told but I finally shuffled forward the few necessary inches. Mark was uncircumcised and Adele held him firmly so that his foreskin was not pulled back contradicting his natural instincts. I focused my entire attention on Adele’s immaculately varnished thumbnail which was pressed on the top of his shaft and tried to fool myself into thinking that that was all that I would be required to give my attention to but the fragile illusion disappeared like dust in the wind.

“Lick it…”

The words were almost whispered but there was no doubt that she was issuing a command and I was almost overcome by a bout of nausea. I half turned away, my eyes desperately seeking the door, but Adele touched the very tip of his manhood to my lips.

“Make up your mind. What is it to be?”

Even given all my recent experiences I had not felt as totally degraded as I did at that moment and I could feel a tear forming at the corner of my eye. I was not going to let them see me cry and so I bowed my head and put out my tongue. I licked tentatively and was surprised at how soft and yielding his foreskin felt but more of a shock was the taste. It was the taste of a woman and I had clearly interrupted them at a more intimate moment than I first imagined.

Adele slowly moved her hand presenting more of his shaft to my tongue and I licked unthinkingly with my eyes tightly closed.

“Make him suck it.”

“Patience, darling, all in good time.”

Adele was enjoying her control over both of us and she was determined to make it last. For the next few minutes she encouraged me to lick him at all angles but I could tell by the pulsing beneath my tongue that Mark was suffering an exquisite frustration. Then, finally, she loosened her fingers allowing his manhood to swell to its fullest extent. The foreskin drew back from his glans like a surreal flower greeting the sun and the whole shaft throbbed in her now loose grip.

“Take it…”

She pushed down slightly, bringing the solid purple bulb level with my lips, and I knew I had to do it quickly before I lost both my nerve and the contents of my stomach. I opened my mouth and allowed Adele to feed him gently between my lips. The taste was different now, undoubtedly masculine, but with something familiar about it. Marks immediate instinct was to thrust as deeply as he could but, thankfully she held him in check content for now to see me suckle the tip.

“Use your tongue…”

She moved his shaft inside my mouth to reinforce her words and I licked as best I could. It was surprisingly smooth and licking it was almost a neutral sensation but I could sense the pent up power of it and I braced myself. There could only be one outcome but I was determined that, if he did start to come I would release him immediately and trust that he would be satisfied. Adele smiled as she continued to tease us both but the ever more plaintive noises emanating from Mark suggested that he would not last very much longer. His body tensed and he murmured,

“Please …”

“Soon…Go and sit on the sofa…spread your legs.”

She withdrew him gently from my mouth and he moved over to the sofa removing his robe as he went. His erection looked painfully stiff and I felt my own manhood twitch in sympathy. I just had to get through this and I would be free of the damn tube.

Adele waited until he was seated and then she removed her own robe. Her pale body was slim but incredibly honed from hours spent doing martial arts but it remained undoubtedly feminine. Her breasts were small but beautifully defined and her dark nipples, firm with excitement, stood in proud contrast. I found myself staring and she seemed pleased at the attention. She moved towards Mark and stood between his legs with her back to him. She looked deep into my eyes as she reached behind herself to take hold of his erection and then, with feline grace, she eased herself back and allowed him to enter her. Mark gave a deep groan as she braced her hands on the sofa and lifted herself so that she could spread her legs over his.

“Come and do us both.”

I came forward, almost in a trance. The sight of her sex, open to my gaze, with his manhood buried deep inside might, under other circumstances, have been highly erotic but knowing what I was required to do served to make it unsettling. I knelt down without being asked and, as I did so she tensed her muscles and began a slow rise and fall.

“Lick him…”

In order to do so I had to follow her movements. Each time she tensed herself a couple of inches of his shaft was revealed and I licked at it as best I could. Mercifully, it now seemed almost disembodied and it was slick with her juices which made it slightly more palatable. I did not think that she would be able to hold herself in tension for very long but I underestimated her. Long minutes passed and still she continued her steady rise and fall only stopping now and again when she judged that Mark needed to come off the boil.

Eventually she paused and, with his shaft completely buried inside her, she used her fingers to open herself.

“Do my clit.”

Her voice faltered very slightly betraying the fact that, beneath her outwardly calm exterior, she too was close to the edge. Distended as it was her clit was revealed as a pink, moist, marble of flesh, and as soon as I began to lick at it her body started to shiver.

“Do it harder!”

I firmed my tongue and did as I was told licking across the top of her opening. She gave a low animal moan and after less than a minute her body melted into a long and deep felt climax. I continued to lick gently until she was fully sated but I was aware that Marks body was now tense with frustration. The hair on his legs was matted with perspiration and his erection seemed more stiff than ever.

After a brief respite Adele went about putting him out of his misery. She resumed her steady rise and fall on his shaft.

“Get lower … lick his balls.”

It was the last thing that I wanted to do. His balls were full and heavy but, worst of all, his sac was covered with a coarse growth of hair which was totally unedifying. In the end I only brought myself to do it because I hoped that it would hasten the end. If it caused him to come inside her then my ordeal would be over. I felt almost sick as I bent to the appointed task and it was made worse by the huge groan of pleasure that Mark gave as soon as I began. I do not know how long it lasted, it seemed like forever, as I laboured at the steamy junction of their co-joined limbs and all the while they whispered encouragement to one another.

Finally, Adele lifted herself totally clear of him and, as she sat back, it was almost as though his penis was hers as it jutted from beneath her mons. I sat back on my haunches as she took him in one hand and I knew that he could hold back no longer.

“Closer…”

I moved forward a little but hopefully out of range of the imminent eruption but suddenly Adele took hold of my jaw with her free hand. I do not know what she did or how she did it. With her thumb on one side of my face and her index finger on the other she twisted her hand and pinched at the same time. My jaw went slack and before I could react she drew me forward. She pulled his manhood down and guided it into my open mouth and now I tried to resist but I found that if I struggled against her grip on my face the pain was excruciating. Staying still was the only way to keep it bearable.

“Now baby …”

She began to stroke him, long purposeful strokes, and he could hold back no longer. I felt the first salty jet hitting the back of my throat and I tried not to gag but now the flood gates were open there was no way of holding it back. She continued to milk him and my mouth was filled with his hot offering. I prayed for it to be over so that I could spit it all out but I never got the chance. Adele let him go and used her hand to close my jaw. At the same time she pinched my nose and wrenched my head backwards. I swallowed reflexively and it was the worst sensation in my life. When she released her grip I found that I had regained a modicum of control over my jaw muscles and I wanted to gag.