The Trust Ch. 08

"Brigid?" and he smiled when she nodded, "I can see what she was going on about." He told her, a very frank look giving her a tiny thrill, she looked at Cindy who was blushing and playing with her glasses.

"Right this way." He told them, standing and stepping toward the hallway behind his desk. "She's shooting right now, but it's just stills, so if we stay out of her way it should be okay. Emma's office is off to the right here." He told them as they went down the hall. "We have a small dark room, not much call for it anymore. And a large image printer with framing shop through there. To the left are wardrobe and styling. You'll meet Casey in a moment, she does the hair and makeup. I'm Samuel by the way, sorry. You can call me Sam though."

The studio was indeed one huge open room, much like the outside had led her to believe, but that's as far as Brigid's expectations were met. The reality of it was enough to boggle the mind. The nearest corner was a beach, complete with white sand and a beautifully painted mural of the ocean going up the walls. The opposite corner was a grassy picnic area. There were various standing walls around, sets built to resemble different rooms and even a small sidewalk cafe in front of them. The top three or four feet of the high walls were lined in long rolls on metal brackets, the tail ends hanging down showing varied backdrops ready to descend at a moments notice.

Samuel let them look around, knowing the effect the studio had on people, then led them around the island of sets in the center, where they found Emma shooting. There was an old yellow lab lying in front of a fake fireplace on a braided rug that looked as worn as he did. He had patient long-suffering eyes that barely shifted to them as a toddler in a bright onesie wallowed and mauled him.

"Poor Basil." Samuel muttered and grinned at them. Then waved at two women off to the side, one smiling at them and coming over. The other probably the toddler's mother, too preoccupied to notice.

"Casey." He introduced her when she got to them. "And this is Brigid and, sorry, I didn't get your name." He told Cindy.

"This is Cindy." Brigid supplied as she extended her hand to shake Casey's.

"Batgirl." Casey practically purred as she took her hand, and Brigid blushed.

"Casey!" Samuel scolded her, but he was grinning. He'd seen the pictures too.

"I think she's about done here," Casey told them. "It's a portrait shoot for the grandparents. So Basil will only have to suffer for a little longer."

Cindy was fascinated. She'd known her life was boring, but these people had so much stuff going on. All the time. And Brigid, was she actually going to be a model? Then there was that poor old dog, she loved him at first sight and could hardly wait to pet him.

***

Dinner was spicy chicken pot pies, Katey feeling inspired by lunch. The filling was loaded with chicken, belle pepper, tomatoes and onions, cheese and green chilies. The crust a thousand flaky layers. Mason had to force himself to stop after the third big piece he ate. Getting up to go put his plate in the kitchen, he stopped by Katey, surprising her with a quick kiss.

"That was really good," he told her, "thank you." Then went on into the kitchen as a smile broke over her face and she turned to watch him go through the door. Turning back to the table to see everyone smiling at her and blushing as they all started complimenting the dinner.

After the meal was over, Pat told them all goodnight, winking at Becky and kissing his daughter on the cheek before leaving. As they started clearing the tables, Brigid could see that Cindy was going to burst soon if she didn't bring in her surprise. So nodding for her to follow, she headed out front. They each grabbed two of the paper wrapped bundles from the back of the vehicle, Cindy almost tittering with excitement as they carried them inside. The bundles left in the CX were duplicates and could be brought in later.

At the studio that afternoon, Emma had offered Brigid a trial contract to shoot catalog ads for some of the larger local clothing outlets. Warning her she would do a lot of bra and panty stuff, but promising to keep it tasteful. Emma went on to say she wouldn't be surprised if one of the bigger catalogs tried to pick her up, hence the contract. It didn't prevent Brigid from accepting an offer, but it did require Emma's inclusion as an agent slash photographer. She stated flat-out, that if her work with Brigid took off, she expected to take the ride with her. Brigid had the contract in her room, and planned to have Allan look it over when he got back.

Emma had turned Cindy's head, telling her she should come back when the swimsuit shoots started in another seven or eight weeks. Cindy completely forgetting that a bikini was just as revealing as the costumes she'd been afraid to be seen in. The proofs from the Ball were wild. And they spent almost an hour choosing the ones Brigid liked best. Then as Emma had to leave them for a location shoot, Samuel had run off poster sized prints of them, a dozen of which were indeed from the first sequence of Mason alone. Framing them was simple as there was a stock pile of the right sized frames already made up. Brigid had tried to pay Samuel, but he'd told her they'd take it out of her first check.

Mason had a bad feeling about the bundles as soon as he saw them. When the paper was ripped off the first, to show him in his costume doing the most muscular pose, he wanted to crawl under the table. When Marcus started laughing, he looked at Brigid in desperation, only to see her smiling at him.

"He'll only use it for a decade or two." She told him, confirming his fear. Then she joined in with the rest as they excitedly exclaimed over each as it was unveiled, Mason would survive, and her father would have some fun.

Mason relaxed a little as pictures of the girls were opened. Taking a little pleasure in Marcus' blanch at a particularly nice one of Brigid, that showed the full contours of her breasts, the bat signal pasties only making it more erotic. Mason's favorite, was the one with Cybil in front of him, the moment of the kiss.

Marcus looked over at Becky as another picture of Mason was opened, shaking his head and grinning. "Sorry girl," he told her, "but you're not getting me into a get up like that, even to chase you around the woods." And they all laughed, though Becky put on a pouty face.

"Nah," Cybil told her, "he's more of the big bad wolf type. You'll just have to get a little red riding hood."

Brigid assured the girls that she had plenty of copies of Mason for all of them out in the car, and Mason knew he was never going to see the end of them.

***

With a start, Mason opened his eyes, a cool small hand caressing his face. Turning he looked into her blue eyes. "It's just a dream." Cybil soothed, Brigid sitting up behind her.

He lay there, his mind catching up, his heart pounding with fear and blood lust, and fear of the blood lust. He'd been so afraid, not of them, but that she was hurt, the memory of her blood.

"Go," Cybil told him quietly, pushing at his shoulder. Then watched as he slipped from the bed to pad naked from the room. This wasn't the first time he'd had the dream, and she knew he'd only toss and turn if he stayed. Lying back in Brigid's arms, she sought her own comfort.

Ardella sighed in her sleep as he eased into her bed, hugging his arm up to her chest as he spooned her, and sleep reclaimed him slowly as he drifted off to the scent of her hair.

Brigid woke with a fleeting memory of Mary, the pang of loss dying as she felt a familiar tongue playing between her thighs, small, surprisingly strong hands holding them open. A glance down at the lump under the covers that could only be Cybil, and she let her eyes close again. Enjoying, relaxing as she absently caressed her stomach. Content to just let it happen.

It was hard to believe the changes that a few short months had made in their lives. She had dreaded losing Mason, that whole last year in Charleston bittersweet. Mason spending most of his time with her and her father, having taken a break from school. But knowing he was leaving the whole time, leaving her alone. That once he left for college, someone else would return.

With a sigh she pushed the thoughts aside, she wasn't alone. There was passion in her life again, love from many sources, like the little one driving her quickly towards a morning orgasm. And she prayed she would never get use to it.

Mason was still spooned with Ardella when he woke, his hand cupping one of her small breasts, morning wood trapped between them. He lay there listening to her breathe, her hair smelling of coconut, or maybe it was a lotion on her neck. His cock twitched as she began to stir, her body stretching, her ass pushing back into him. Her hand finding his at her breast as she twisted to look back at him, a slow lazy smile.

The kiss lasted a long moment, Ardella managing to roll over and face him without breaking it, tucking both her arms against her chest and settling into his warmth as he pulled her close again. She lay there happy, content to duck her head against his neck as the kiss ended. He was there, at least this time, when she woke it wasn't a fantasy. He didn't slip away as she lost the fight to stay in the dream.

"I was scared, you know." His voice was small, far off. "When I saw you get hit," he trailed off, his hand rising to gently caress the back of her head. She heard the love in his voice, her heart soaking it in, claiming it. Her lips kissing his collarbone, her hands turning to touch him. His fingers in her hair, pulling her head back gently, his lips reclaiming hers. By the time they rolled apart, kicking the covers off their sweaty bodies, Mason had finally gotten to worship her puffy nipples, her breasts a little sore from his morning stubble.

***

The motorcycle certification clinic was taking place at a small municipal airport outside of Woburn, a corner of their pavement having been painted with the lanes and stop points for the use of the Massachusetts Rider Education Program. or MREP. The Site Coordinator giving it was somewhere in his late forties and balding. He started out lecturing them very stiffly about the requirements and rules, but loosened up as Cybil got the girls flirting with him. By the time they were actually going through the maneuvers, Mason doubted any of the girls would fail even if the ran someone over.

It was actually kind of fun. Turning into a bit of a competition to see who among their group did the smoothest job of winding through the course, Ardella surprising everyone with an almost perfect run when her turn came, the bike a part of her. Katey had the other end of the spectrum, looking like she had to fight the bike all the way, but she also passed.

They finished the clinic with eye exams, Cybil still flirting with the guy, and a twenty-five question written test. Everyone passing it handily, only a couple missing even one question, while failing would take eight wrong answers. Mason had already pre-paid the fees, so they were given temporary licenses and told their permanent ones would be arriving by mail.

It was late afternoon by the time they finished, so Mason decided to spare Katey and treat everyone to a late lunch or early supper at the Hometown Buffet he had spotted on the way to the clinic. There was a lot of excitement at their table, the girls still riding high from the afternoons friendly competition. The subject of the pictures from the night before came up, Pat saying he wanted to see them, causing Shelby to almost faint and everyone else to laugh.

Mason followed Brigid downstairs after they got home and changed out of their leathers, her into regular clothes, while he threw on shorts and a t-shirt, thinking he'd spend some time in the gym. He asked if she wanted to join him, only to be informed that she, Katey and Cindy were heading into Boston.

"They'll be done on the roof in a few days." She reminded him. "And we want to get ready to play in the greenhouse, so we're going to hit a few nurseries. See what plants and seeds we can find."

"You know where to go?" Mason asked, surprised.

"I do." Katey assured him, trotting down the stair with Cindy in tow. Then following Brigid's example and giving him a quick kiss before they headed out, talking excitedly.

Mason wandered up to the roof and looked around, finding that she was right. There was little resemblance left to the stark expanse he'd first seen. The greenhouse was bigger than he'd pictured judging by the frame, and he could imagine Brigid happily spending hours in it, along with Katey it seemed. He'd almost forgotten about the Jacuzzi and decided it would get tried sooner than later. Going down the fire stair, he crossed to the patio, surprised to find that he actually had to use the door to get in. There was still work to be done, but all the panels were in place and only the far corner still had brick work to do. Another surprise was that the pool was about three-quarters full. It was hard to believe how much they had gotten done since he'd been out there Friday morning. He knew Marcus' cottage was in the finishing stages as well, the roof going on while the men worked inside, and he couldn't help smiling, things were finally coming together.