Meeting of the Six Kings Ch. 01

—-

They laid together, unmoving, for a long time. She rested her head against his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart. He wrapped her in his arms keeping her snugly and possessively against him. The heat of his body made her drowsy and she slipped in and out of a light, dreamless sleep.

He had so much to consider as his mind sought to process the events of the day. He tried to focus on his presentation that morning, his career on the line, and the work that was ahead of him in the next few days to clinch the contract. But, as his hands stroked gently through Catrine's soft hair, following it down down the length of her back, he found it hard to think about anything at all.

"It's time to go Catrine," he said to her softly as he eased himself from her and set her beside him on the sofa. She nodded and stood, re-buttoning her dress and collecting her panties from the floor. They walked together in silence back down the long corridor and into the main room where their meeting had taken place earlier in the day. After the intensity of their touch, she felt oddly timid standing beside him. She had a strange sense like something had gone missing inside of her, where just moments before she had felt whole. She tried to shake off the feeling, hoping that it was a lingering effect of the drug. She glanced at him as they entered the conference room, but Ryan's face showed nothing at all. He was all business.

The room was empty with the exception of the butler who had greeted Ryan when he arrived that morning. "Well at last, there you are!" He exclaimed with slightly too much enthusiasm. "We were starting to worry about you two lovebirds." He eyed Catrine lewdly and then continued, turning his gaze back to Ryan, "You had the chance to enjoy yourself, I trust? I have instructions to show you to your room and then, Mr. Pierce, you're invited to join the others for dinner and a cocktail in the smoking lounge later this evening."

The butler made his way with haste out the front entrance of the room and bid them to follow. Catrine jumped with surprise as Ryan took her hand in his own and pulled her forward to walk beside him. They walked together to a bank of elevators and up several floors to a private floor. In front of a set of imposing looking double doors, the butler handed Ryan a small gold skeleton key and bid him good afternoon.

Ryan opened the door and took in beauty of the lushly appointed suite. Like the building itself, the furnishings in the living room were minimalist and modern, a combination of dark wood tones and crisp white furnishings. There were almost no decorations in the suite, but large windows put the whole city on display before them, lights shining like a living panoramic photograph Several large glass vases contained lush greens and large, colorful tropical flowers. Their pleasant odor wafted through the room.

"Just like home!" Ryan said more to himself than to Catrine. He cracked a smile, enjoying his own joke, and walked fully inside. It certainly was a beautiful space. He went to a large and well-appointed bar in the corner and took out two glasses from a cabinet. He dropped a few ice cubes in each glass with a satisfying clink and then poured a long pull of scotch into each.

Catrine remained in the doorway unsure of exactly what he wished her to do next. She felt so apprehensive. The energy between them was different than anything she had experienced before. It made her jumpy and ill at ease. She had spent two years seeking her Master's okay to move, sleep, and breathe, or face swift consequences. She had sought permission for nearly move she made. It was clear that Ryan didn't require this from her, but in the absence of that instruction, she had no sense of what to do.

He noticed her standing in the doorway and turned towards her. He frowned slightly but picked up the glasses off the bar and approached her slowly.

"Hi." He said softly as he handed her a glass.

"Hi." She replied, her voice equally soft, as her fingertips brushed against his hand. They had spent the entire day together, but somehow this felt like a new introduction of sorts. They each took a drink from their glass and lingered in the doorway. They locked eyes and the energy practically crackled between them. Ryan raised his hand and stroked one of her cheers with the back of his fingers. She closed her eyes and tilted her head against them. His fingers moved to her lips, brushing them gently, stilling them when his thumb rested at their center. His thumb made small movements against her lips as if he were trying to learn all their secrets.

She shook her head back and forth slightly so that her lips moved beneath his fingers, encouraging his exploration. In her whole life, she had never wanted to be kissed in the way she desired it now. Her weight was on the balls of her feet and she pressed herself forward slightly daring to hope for more contact with him.

A loud buzz broke their tension as Ryan turned to find its source. His briefcase had been brought up to the room before their arrival and his tablet beeped and buzzed incessantly inside. He took it out, looked at the string of messages on the screen, and turned back to Catrine.

"I need to go downstairs." He said, a tinge of disappointment in his voice. She nodded her head and turned to walk out into the hall behind him. Understanding her intention, he interrupted her. "Oh...no Catrine. Stay here. I need this to be a business meeting, without distractions." He said the last word as if it left an odd taste in his mouth. "There is still a lot about my company's proposal that needs to be discussed."

She nodded her head again as if she didn't trust herself to speak to him. Her feelings were conflicted. It had been a long day and she was relieved that he wasn't calling on her to endure more time in public. But she was suddenly anxious about not being by his side. Her pulse quickened and she fidgeted slightly as she stood.

He stood again beside her and sensed her apprehension. "Hey," he said, gently cupping her chin in his fingers and tilting her head upwards to look at him. "You must be so tired. I'll make sure you get some dinner. You can take a shower. I bet that TV over there has like a million channels..." She smiled a bit at the normalcy of what he proposed. "I'll come back in just a little while, okay?"

She nodded once more and he leaned forward and planted a chaste kiss on her lips and continued, "Rest, Little One." Then he turned and closed the door behind him as he walked away.

She stood another moment in the entryway feeling dazed. Hoping to clear her mind, she turned around and wandered thoughtfully into the bedroom. She opened the dresser and found the set of essentials that had been sent for her use. She pulled out a small bag of toiletries and a long silver blue lace nightgown and carried them into the enormous bathroom. She relaxed under the hot water of the shower and took her time, enjoying the sheer luxury of it. When she was finished, she returned to the main room of the suite and discovered a dinner tray had been left for her on the dining table.

She sat quietly and ate eagerly. When she was finished, she walked over to the bar and fingered a beautifully hand carved wooden box filled with loose tea. She opened the box and the fragrance wafted to her nose. She hesitated for a moment since she hadn't been given explicit permission to use any. But, she took a deep breath and turned on the small electric teapot trusting the spirit of her Master's words. When it was ready, she inhaled the aroma of it deeply, cherishing it like a small gift, and carried it over to the sofa in the main living room.

Seated there, feeling clean, her stomach full, the warm cup in her hand, she yawned loudly. She finished the last sip and placed the cup on the coffee table beside her. She laid her head down on the soft cushions of the pillow and succumbed to the desire to sleep.

——

Over the course of an obscenely luxurious meal with more courses than he could count, Ryan Pierce pushed forward the dialogue regarding his company's stake in the development of the southern territories. He felt prepared for the line of questioning by the Six Kings. He was relieved to have their full attention and felt reasonably confident that he could address their lingering concerns as the meeting progressed over the next three days.

Their meal complete, Sir Dutton suggested they retire to the study for a cigar and a brandy. Ryan obliged, though he had been hoping that with dinner adjourned, he could return upstairs to Catrine. Her expression as he had left the suite lingered with him. It mingled in his mind with the \memories of the day. His mind burst with short flashes of her; sleeping against him in the car, kneeling majestically beside him, pressed tightly against his chest as he fucked her deeply. Whoa. He felt like his heart skipped two beats as he considered their intimate act from the afternoon.

She wasn't anything like he had expected. But, then again, had he really known what to expect? There was a quiet dignity about her and an authenticity in her actions that was so surprising. She had been subjected to so many indignities over the course of the day, despite his meager attempts at making her comfortable, and still this evening she stood stoically beside him awaiting his next instruction. He was awed by her resilience. He hoped at least that the dinner he requested had already arrived and that she was resting comfortably now. It was the least she deserved.

His thoughts were interrupted as the group made their way to the entrance of the study. He paused to accept a drink from the waiter at the entrance and then stopped in his tracks. Sir Dutton's slave, tall and lean with long blonde hair and enormous breasts, was naked and tied down across a large table at the center of the room. Next to Ryan, Sir Arick exclaimed, "Oh! Excellent Dutton! A bit of entertainment!" He walked directly over to the girl and spilled a bit of his brandy across her stomach, leaning down over her to lick it leudly off her skin. The rest of the Kings descended on her like a pack of vampires.

Ryan turned on his heel, placed his glass on a table near the door, and quickly walked out of the room.

——-

He stopped for a moment in the hall just on the other side of the study doors. Holy shit. He was in over his head with these people. Then, a panic suddenly bloomed in his chest and he began walking purposefully back down the hall to the residence floor elevators.

Oh God. He thought to himself. He had brought her here. Into this lion's den. He was suddenly, powerfully, overwhelmed by a desire to keep Catrine safe. He practically ran the length of hall that lead back to his room, bursting inside with more force than he anticipated. He half expected her to have vanished, snatched away by some King with dark fantasies. The suite was dark and the bed was empty. The panic that had been bubbling inside of him threatened to burst from his chest as he turned frantically in the living room.

Then he spotted her. She was curled up in a deep corner of the couch, sound asleep. He stood there and watched her for a moment, transfixed by her simple beauty. Resting there quietly, she was such a contrast to the excesses of food and finery that had bombarded him downstairs.

He left her to sleep a bit longer. He retreated to the bathroom and took a quick shower to settle his frayed nerves. He readied himself for bed and then sent a quick message to his boss with a concise synopsis of his first day.

Then, he picked her up gently and wrapped her in his arms for the second time that day, carrying her into the bedroom. She stirred a bit but did not awaken as he pulled back the thick duvet cover and slid them both into the softness of the sheets. She moved then, jostled half-awake by the coolness of the sheets and the warmth of his body next to hers. To his surprise, rather than turning away, she reached towards him and then curled herself again tightly against his side. Her head nestled in the crook of his arm and her forearm draped across his bare stomach. His breath hitched at the intimacy of her touch and the strength of his feelings of desire for her.

He laid still for a long time, staring out at the sweeping city lights beyond the windows of their strange hideaway, wanting to touch her but not wanting to disturb her. After some time, he finally closed his eyes and drifted off into a fitful sleep.