Possessing Bella Ch. 16

"I hope the same is true for you," Sophie said genuinely. Seeing Bella's look of surprise, she added, "Well now you are a celebrity of sorts, I imagine all sorts of rumours will begin. You should come to one of our fundraisers."

"I'd love to, when is the next one?" She asked.

"Not until the end of February," Sophie grinned.

"I will be here," Bella promised. "Do you think I should go tell Stephen I am alright now? They've been out there a very long time."

"That would be my Jarod arguing every point. I will walk out with you and rescue the younger men from his bull-headedness," She grumbled. "That man is going to be the death of me, one way or another, unless I kill him first," she winked.

"Fuck me, the princess of the forest nymphs," Arek who was facing the stone archway of the garden said loudly enough for Bella to hear.

Stephen and Jarod turned as one to look at what Arek was seeing. "Yeah, the old girl isn't bad is she. Bella doesn't scrub up too bad either in that getup," Jarod said without a trace of a smile, earning him a kiss from his wife.

"I just wanted to let you know I was fine and to see if Pete was here. This is his idea," she indicated her dress, "but then he ran off to get something and I haven't seen him since."

"He's probably in his workshop. Come let's take a look," Stephen held out his arm in a regal manner for her to take.

"Thank you, kind Sir," she smiled up at him and turned to Arek. "I can't wait to see this when it's all finished. I have a tree just like that one at home that I practically live in when I am there."

"I've heard something like that," Arek laughed. "I will invite you personally to give it your seal of approval, Princess," He bowed not so gracefully and grinned at Stephen. Of all the things, the man had wanted in this walled garden the tree had been the one thing Stephen had specified from the beginning.

They walked from the garden around to the rear of the building. They found Pete hunched over a desk in his workshop deep in concentration. Stephen cleared his throat loudly to get his brother's attention.

"What?" Pete looked up irritably.

"We can't stay long, we just came by to say hello because Bella wanted to take her new car for a drive," Stephen said with patience.

"Wait, wait, wait," Pete flapped his hands anxiously. "I need you to take this to Louise for me." He held up a sheet of paper with drawings in amongst short paragraphs of writing. Then put it back down and kept working.

"I'm going to help Bella change back into her clothes, so you have maybe thirty minutes," Stephen rumbled. "Pete, what's the time now?" Stephen waited while Pete angrily consulted his watch and mumbled at him. "Good, so you know when we are leaving," Stephen reiterated.

"Yes, yes, I get it," Pete grumbled and went back to what he was working on, dismissing them from his mind.

Turning to leave Stephen grinned, "It will still take him an hour or so to be ready, but he could have kept us waiting for hours if I didn't make him check the time." They walked back into the house and to the kitchen where Bella had left her clothes. Stephen seemed to have a sense of urgency as he took the clothes from the bench and led her to the door to his tower.

"You have no idea what seeing you dressed like this does to me," he growled and, closing the door behind them, dragged her behind him up a flight of stairs to the first floor. Stopping a few steps into the room, he pulled her into his arms and ran his hands over the tightly corseted bodice. His breath was hot on her neck, and she shivered as he moved against her, showing just how this dress had affected him.

"I've missed having you at arm's length," he murmured deeply and pushed her up against a wall, lifting her leg high over his hip. Frustrated to find her wearing panties, he ran his thick fingers over the soft fabric wedging them under the edge to move them aside and give him the access he needed to her heat and arousal. He lowered his head devouring her response to his admission and continued to use his hands on her cunt, bringing her to the point of whimpering need.

Only when he knew she was on the point of begging for release did he open his pants, freeing his raging cock. Pushing the dress up her legs, he grabbed her ass tightly in both hands, making her cry out suddenly as he lifted her to sit poised above his cock. Kissing her deeply, he rammed up into her hard and fast, swallowing those cries that might have carried through the tower and out into the main area of the old castle-like monastery.

He didn't hold himself back, conscious of where they were and the risks of being interrupted. Instead, he ploughed into her seeking his bliss in the girl that had stolen his heart and become the focus of his world. He poured his need and desire into her as he fucked her hard, revelling in her breathless whimpers and cries of pleasure. He came, clenching his teeth together and throwing back his head, bouncing her back hard against the wall, pressing his weight onto her to hold her up on his shaking legs.

Bella let her body relax as he held to her tightly. She had felt his need to possess her in the urgency with which he took her and she felt the burden of her current position within her commitment to the legacy Mel had left her. She could easily let herself love this man who loved her for all that she was and could be. He supported and helped her career and, despite his misgivings and confessions of jealousy, seemed to understand her need to see the training she had undertaken through to its completion.

Stephen finally drew a breath and staggered with her in his arms to the closest couch, cradling her to him, not bothering to adjust their clothing as they both attempted to control their trembling limbs and breathlessness. Holding her head, Stephen kissed her gently and began unlacing her bodice so she could change into the sweet pink dress her mother had given her.

Within thirty minutes, they were farewelling Pete and their other friends to head back to the city. Pete had made Stephen promise to give his instructions to Louise before finally stepping back from the car and allowing them to leave.

Bella looked over at Stephen, who seemed remarkably content to let her drive. She had half expected him to offer to drive. Most men she knew preferred to do the driving or so she thought, but she started the little car and, revelling in the sense of freedom having her own car gave her, she crunched back down the long gravel driveway.

It was difficult to talk with the wind rushing past them as they drove taking any sound they attempted to make. The drive back into the city was silent, punctuated only by Stephen placing his hand on her thigh and rubbing affectionately from time to time.

Under Stephen's direction, Bella pulled her car into the parking garage beneath her building. Only when she was faced with the prospect of having to park did she realise she had no space assigned to her.

"Can I park down here?" She asked nervously, slowing down to a crawl and looking at Stephen.

"Of course, you can," Stephen chuckled and directed her to a parking space labelled with her name. "You have two parking spaces down here, one for the town car Lincoln drives and the other for your personal use," Stephen explained. "You own an apartment here. The spaces are part of that ownership."

"I hadn't realised," Bella smiled.

"There was no need to know until now," Stephen said as he climbed from the car and waited for her to open the boot so he could retrieve her bags.

"I guess you're right," she laughed and popped the boot. He leaned down and kissed her lightly. Taking her bags for her, they walked to the elevators. With his hands full, Bella felt the strangeness of not having his hand resting on the back of her neck as they entered the elevator, and he dropped a bag to insert the key card.

"Why don't you change and we can go down and see Rob for dinner," Stephen suggested as they entered her apartment.

"I feel like all I have done today is change my clothes," Bella laughed but took her bag into her bedroom and began to look for something suitable to wear for dinner at the club.

"That's a good thing from my point of view," He grinned following her into the bedroom. "Take your time, I'll call Rob and let him know we are back and will be down soon." Stephen lounged on her bed watching her as she unzipped and dropped the pink dress to the floor. Nude she walked to the bathroom for a quick shower, the smell of their earlier tryst lingering on her.

Stephen watched as she got ready, in no hurry to move from where he reclined watching the natural beauty of the young woman he adored being enhanced with make-up and styling. No matter how much he strived to have a calm, unhurried approach to possessing her, he warred with himself internally. He was caught between jealousy of her other relationships and the fear that she could be taken away by one of them, and his knowledge that she did indeed care for him as he cared for her.

Even though he knew he had nothing to be concerned about between Rob and Bella, he disliked the intimate close relationship they had that at times blocked out all other people around them. He had never felt that way about Kurt or any of the other Masters who made up the club stakeholders. He had felt that pang of jealousy again today when he had seen the ease with which Bella and Arek interacted.

He rationalised his feelings as being threatened by the fact that these men were single and therefore looking for a naturally submissive and beautiful girl like Bella themselves. He acknowledged they were competing for her attention and affection and, while Arek may not be part of her everyday world as he and Rob were, he had still ensured he was attached in some way to the people in her world, including himself. His mind wondered once again to Dorothea's warnings about smothering her by keeping her caged here within the familiar boundaries of the club and the company. He admitted that as much as he would like to, he just couldn't encourage her to spread her wings too much in fear of losing her.

"You seem very serious tonight," Bella's voice broke into his thoughts. "Is everything alright?"

"I was just thinking how incredibly beautiful you are," he stood from the bed and took her hand, bending low to kiss her gently. "Shall we go?" Stephen smiled and led her from the room.

The dinner with Rob was filled with talk of the New Year's Eve party the following evening. With plans for the evening in full swing, most of the stakeholders were at the club overseeing some element of the evening and at different intervals joining their table in the restaurant area.

With so many members belonging to the club, it had become an invitation-only affair with the stakeholders holding a set number of invitations each. Any remaining invitations from these men were then posted on the club website in the member only section to be purchased by the lucky few who happened to be online when they went up. It had apparently been sold out weeks ago with people offering exorbitant amounts to purchase tickets from those who already held some.

Bella, who had not been present at any of these types of celebrations, was agog with the plans that had been made. The food and drink and entertainments alone were staggering to her. They spoke of Mel's birthday party the year before and she frowned, wondering why she had not been there.

"You had gone to your parents' place and then you and Mel left for overseas that night," Rob said. He took her hand gently, not wanting to make a big deal out of why she and Mel had not been at his own birthday party.

Bella blushed as memories of her tantrum and subsequent actions filled her mind. She had run away again. Mel's parties, she had found out, were famous amongst the lifestylers they catered to, and this one would be no exception. Full of dazzling stars and the rich and elite of their world, the evening promised to be as good if not better than the ones that had come before it. She hadn't realised that the big events had been toned down or cancelled in the wake of Mel's death.

She suddenly became self-conscious and wondered what she could wear to such a glittering evening. It was far too late to consider having anything made and being such a petite woman meant that buying something from the rack was virtually impossible. She gnawed on her lip, thinking over the problem as the others spoke excitedly around her.

"Bella?" Stephen's voice sounded, breaking her thoughts, "Is there a problem?" He frowned at her. Bella looked up to see those gathered at the table looking at her.

"Oh, I'm just being a typical girl and wondering what on earth I will wear," she blushed deeply and laughed.

"I believe Dianne and Kurt have that covered," Rob winked. "They sent over your Christmas present today, it's sitting in my office," he nodded his head toward the door.

"Can we go see it now? Can we? Can we? Huh, Huh, Huh?" Tali had bounced up from her position beside Mark and was hopping around excitedly. Bella looked at Rob, who groaned and got to his feet, leading the way across the restaurant as the two women followed. Tali all but ran as she grabbed Bella's arm and hurried her forward.

"Dianne always has gorgeous outfits for these things. I bet this is just stunning!" Tali was talking quickly in her excitement, but she fell silent as they walked through the door and saw Rob uncover a mannequin draped with pearls and lace. Bella walked forward. From the distance of the door which was no more than two or three metres, it looked like one singular piece of lace that draped down from a shoulder and curls its way down the mannequin's torso.

Moving closer Bella could see a simple dress starting with a string of pearls at the throat in an all but invisible gauzy material. The lace, delicately embroidered with small seed pearls, made a stark white contrast to the colour of the flesh as it wound its way over one breast in a burst of heather like flowers. The lace then carried on down, curling over and around the belly to the hip. From there it wound across the mannequin's lower back to curl once again around the other hip and finish in another spray of flowers and pearls over the groin.

Bella sucked in a deep breath in awe of how beautiful it was, running a finger over a seemingly haphazard string of pearls. Several strands ran from the pearl necklace down along with the lace while one ran between the mannequin's breasts, highlighting the pointed nipples. Walking to the rear of the mannequin, she saw the double row of large pearls that ran down its spine and over the crack of its ass essentially covering it. The dress while leaving nothing to the imagination at the same time left everything to the imagination.

The gauzy dress fell to the floor where pearls and lace had been sewn in a circle around the hem to peak and fall with the waves the material made as it hung around the mannequin's ankles. Bella could see Dianne wearing something this sexy, but she was unsure if she could pull it off herself. She could imagine Dianne's voluptuous body filling out the gauze until it was like a second skin.

"This will look so amazing on you," Tali was still bouncing excitedly. "It will show off all those glorious curves of yours that you tend to hide too much." Bella was surprised by her words, and it showed on her face. "Since you came back and stopped that whole sad hunger strike thing you had going on for a while, your back to the sexy, curvy little nymph persona that Mel introduced us all to," Tali grinned.

"Well it certainly is something Mel would have chosen for me," she said quietly as if to herself. Her mind flittered back over the almost non-existent strips of material he had dressed her in to come down to the club on most occasions. He had enjoyed being able to show off his property like that and the compliments he received about owning a girl like her. He had told her often of the pride he had for her and his desire to show her off to the world.

"Nobody has seen it yet, aside of Kurt and Dianne, of course," Rob chuckled. "So you will be able to make a startling grand entrance tomorrow night," he smirked. "I'll bring it up tomorrow when we are getting ready for the ball. Dianne wants to be there when you try it on and make sure it fits just right," he added.

"Me too!" Tali added, "I won't tell a soul I promise. I'll call Dianne and find out what time she is coming." Tali's excitement was contagious, and Bella found herself grinning at the girl despite her reservations about the dress. She hadn't worn anything this revealing in public since she had been with Mel. She wasn't sure how she felt about being so exposed to a club full of strangers but she let herself be carried along by her friend's enthusiasm.

*****

Bella stood in her large living room as Dianne fussed around her, making last minute alterations with models tape. The invisible tape felt strange on her skin, like a facial left on too long and she squirmed, slightly rolling her shoulders feeling the pull of it on her breasts.

"Stop that," Dianne admonished her with a clicking of her tongue. Tali giggled as she moved around the pair of them excitedly.

The door sounded and Kurt, who had been watching the fitting of the dress with much amusement stood up to answer it, letting in Rob.

"Is she ready yet?" He lowered his voice as he greeted his friend.

"You know Dianne, there is always something to fuss over in one of her designs," Kurt grinned. "Let's have a drink and give them another ten minutes of fussing. Come on in, Bella looks like she is being tortured," He chuckled.

"Good evening Ladies," Rob greeted them as he followed Kurt through to the kitchen. "You're right she looks like she needed me to rescue her," Rob resumed the low voice as he spoke again.

"Yeah, but let's not spoil Dianne's fun too soon. She's had to curtail her own predilections for fine fashion lately," Kurt continued to chuckle. "She's not even showing yet but she says she looks different and can't wear the things she used," he shrugged and shook his head. "She always looks great to me so what do I care as long as she doesn't take to wearing kaftans."

"Banish the thought," Rob gasped in mock horror.

"Isn't it amazing?!" Tali exclaimed as she bounced over to the men once they were seated. "I bet it's killing Sir Stephen not knowing what's going on up here," she giggled.

"Stephen seemed fine when I left the club just now," Rob grinned. "He was busy and barking orders like he usually does during these events." Tali seemed about to say more but seemed to bite her tongue as Rob turned his head back to watch Bella. She noted the softening of his features and the small smile and couldn't work out if what she was seeing was perhaps the love of a guardian and father figure or something more. Returning to where Bella and Dianne stood, she worried about her friend. It would be difficult to choose between two such men and could cause far reaching rifts in their tight little circle friendship.

"You have to make something this gorgeous for me, Dianne," Tali bubbled away, hiding her concerns and filling the room with excited chatter. They lingered a little while longer, laughing and talking about the night ahead before heading down to the party.

Kurt, Dianne and Tali went down a few minutes before Rob and Bella so she could fix her hair one last time. Rob had suggested this as he wanted their entrance to be unimpeded. Tonight Bella would be his date, so to speak and somehow he hoped he would find the words to tell her how he felt now that some time had passed since her return. He had not known what having this loving young woman as part of his everyday life would mean. He had thought that no one could ever live up to his ideal that the memories of Kitty had left him with. As he watched her embrace life and blossom after going through such an ordeal, he had begun to dread the day when he would need to hand her over to another man.