Blood Bond Page 21

  ‘I don’t like you watching me,’ Damian said.

  ‘I know what’ll do it,’ Cheryl said, hurrying out of the room.

  Cheryl returned a few minutes later. She had been to Damian’s ‘special room’ and collected one of his magazines. Thirty seconds later, their prisoner was enjoying his supper.

  Briefed by Cheryl and Bridget, Susan was well prepared for her assignment when she escorted Greg back to his cell at six the following morning. She was keen to get on with preparing breakfast and didn’t want to waste any time. She gave him the lidded jar and a glossy ‘art’ book she had borrowed from Diana’s library, and waited outside the cell door. Breakfast was served on time.

  ‘I’ve got a treat for you today,’ Jennifer said at two o’clock as she followed Jasper up the stairs of Cromwell’s Tower at the end of his sixteen-hour shift.

  ‘More mutton stew?’ he panted, struggling under the weight of the ball and chain.

  ‘Something far more interesting than that,’ she laughed.

  They followed the usual routine. Once they had reached the third floor, Jasper walked past the cell door and placed the ball on the floor. Secure in the knowledge that there was no way her prisoner could attack her, Jennifer walked from the top of the stairwell, unlocked the cell door and returned to the top of the staircase. She waited for him to pick up the ball and chain, walk into his cell, cross the room, put the ball on the floor and sit on the edge of his bed. Once he was safely seated, she entered the cell and placed his meal on the small table on the other side of the room. Normally she would then depart, lock the cell door behind her and leave him to eat his meal alone. Today she closed the door and remained in the room.

  ‘What’s the treat then?’ he asked, watching her intently from the bed.

  ‘Lie down and put your hands through the bedstead.’

  ‘You’re joking!’

  ‘Remember the good times we used to have?’ He looked at her suspiciously. ‘Go on, do as I told you — lie down and put your hands through the railings. Close your eyes and keep them closed until I tell you to open them.’

  Obediently, Jasper he did as he was told. He breathed in the scent of her as she moved closer. Then he felt her pass a rope around his wrists and opened his eyes in alarm.

  ‘Close your eyes,’ she said. Her voice was soft and seductive. ‘I’m not going to hurt you.’ He closed his eyes again. He remembered the great sex they had had in the past and was already aroused. He heard the rustle of clothing being removed, then felt her unbutton his shirt. As she began tugging at his trousers, he lifted his hips.

  He felt the bed move as she straddled him. ‘You can open your eyes now,’ she said softly. He blinked. Her voluptuous breasts were hanging a few centimetres from his face. He instinctively moved to caress them with his hands, but his arms restrained on the bedhead. ‘Look but don’t touch,’ she said. ‘I’ll do all the touching.’ She dragged her nipples down over his skin and then began to kiss his chest before drawing her tongue across his torso and circling his groin.

  An hour later, Jennifer left with a full jar of sperm. Jasper sat at the table and ate his cold mutton stew, a smile on his face, a plan beginning to form in his mind.

  29

  ‘What are you looking so glum about?’ Jasper asked as he sat on the edge of his bed waiting for Jennifer to place his meal-tray on the table. It was the first time he had been alone with her since she had collected his sperm. For the two weeks since then, other members of the Steed family had escorted him or, if Jennifer had been there, she had been accompanied by another family member.

  Diana had become even more paranoid about the security of the Chatfield brothers. She had personally inspected the balls and chains on their ankles, then had collected the keys and placed them safely in the drawers of her desk. She had reminded everyone that at least one brother was to be locked in their cell at all times, and insisted that two escorts accompany each prisoner to and from their cells. As an added precaution, the prisoner commencing their shift was not to be taken from his cell until the prisoner coming off shift had been safely locked away.

  As a result of the edict, for a few minutes at each changeover only one treadmill was being operated. Large dials in front of the treadmills informed the prisoners of the power being drawn, the amount being produced and the total remaining in the battery bank. Faced with the knowledge that their food ration would be cut if the levels dropped beneath a set target, the prisoner remaining on the treadmill was forced to pedal furiously until the second prisoner arrived.

  Jennifer was breaking the rules today by escorting Jasper alone. But despite Diana’s decrees, none of the Steed family considered Jasper a threat. Unlike his two brothers, who would periodically flare up and threaten their escorts, Jasper was a model prisoner. With the remaining family members busy, Jennifer had decided to ignore Diana’s edict and escort him alone.

  ‘It’s none of your business,’ she said in response to Jasper’s query.

  ‘It’s that Leader of yours, isn’t it?’

  ‘What makes you say that?’

  ‘From what I can see, she’s as much of a tyrant as my father used to be.’

  ‘No one could ever be as bad as your father was.’

  ‘Seems to me we both need cheering up. Why don’t you stay and have a chat while I eat my dinner?’

  ‘Why would I want to chat to you?’

  ‘Well, you can’t tell anyone else what you really think of that bitch Diana, can you?’

  ‘Don’t talk about the Leader like that.’

  ‘I know what she’s like. I’ve heard others complain about her too, when they’ve walked past the Punishment Room. I can’t understand why you’re not manager of the farm and gardens rather than Virginia. Seems to me you’re getting the rough end of the stick.’

  ‘It’s none of your business.’

  Jasper shrugged. ‘Look, I just fancy a bit of company. All I have to listen to day and night are the complaints of that lunatic Damian or the ramblings of the dull-as-ditchwater Greg.’ Jennifer hesitated. ‘I’m not going to do anything daft,’ Jasper continued. ‘I’ll behave myself, I promise.’ He took his ball and chain in his arms and stood up slowly. ‘I’m going to go and stand over there in the corner. You can lock the door and go away, or you can sit on the bed and have a chat while I eat my dinner.’ He lifted his ball and waited for her to move away from the table, then he carried it across to the corner of the room.

  ‘All right,’ she said as she walked across to the bed and sat down. ‘It beats working. The bitch has put me on toilet duty again today.’

  Jasper moved across to the table, placed his ball on the floor and sat on the chair. ‘It’s just like the old days,’ he laughed as he began his meal. ‘Remember how we used to fool around behind my father’s back when he decreed I was only allowed to sleep with the younger women?’

  ‘Well, don’t think you’re going to be fooling around with me behind Diana’s back.’

  ‘All I asked for was a chat,’ he said quickly. ‘I like you. I like to talk to you. The sex with you was great — the best I’ve ever had — but it was never just the sex as far as I was concerned.’

  She watched him eat. His work on the treadmill had toned him up. He looked even more handsome than he used to. Despite his failings, he was undoubtedly the best-looking man in the community. He was also the most virile. Jennifer had made a few passes at Paul, but he didn’t seem interested. She doubted if he was even interested in the younger women; he looked ill and he was always so tired. And now here was Jasper not only telling her that sex with her had been the best he’d ever had, but telling her that sex was not the most important part of their relationship. Despite her heart racing, she decided to play it cool. ‘So how’s life on the treadmill?’

  ‘Hard.’

  ‘Now you know how we felt.’

  ‘Fair enough,’ he conceded. ‘You seem to use a hell of a lot of electricity. What’s it all being used for?’

&n
bsp; Jennifer told him about the electrical devices, where they were and how they worked. She mentioned the laundry, the freezers, the workshop machinery and the alarm system. He listened attentively, taking it all in.

  ‘And,’ she said finally, ‘the Leader even has a teasmade beside her four-poster bed!’

  ‘You shouldn’t knock it,’ Jasper laughed. ‘If she didn’t have that, she’d probably have you bringing her tea in bed in the morning.’

  ‘Fat chance,’ Jennifer said. She glanced nervously at her watch. ‘I’d better get going.’

  He nodded. ‘Back to your toilet duty? Seems to me you’re not much better off than I am. We both need something to cheer us up.’ He paused. ‘I could cheer you up if you came here and collected me an hour or so before the start of my shift.’

  ‘Fat chance,’ she said again, standing up and facing him, instinctively flicking the hair back from her face.

  ‘Pity,’ he said. ‘We were good together.’

  As she left the room, she noticed her heart racing again. She wanted him and she knew he wanted her. Could she trust him? Or was it just the usual patter? Would he try it on with Virginia, Kimberley or Rebecca if they escorted him to his cell alone?

  The thought brought a scowl to her face. From now on, they wouldn’t get a look in. If anyone was going to have him, it was going to be her. She would always volunteer for escort duty. The only issue was trying to make sure she could do it alone.

  For a further fortnight, Jennifer was accompanied by another member of the family each time she collected and returned Jasper to his cell. Occasionally she offered to undertake the chore herself, but the rest of the family were frightened of both the Leader’s sharp tongue and the unpleasant duties she might allocate to them. Duncan was particularly circumspect.

  ‘We’ve got to collect more sperm from Jasper this afternoon,’ Jennifer told her brother when he said he would assist with the escort duty.

  ‘Great — so I’ve got to watch while he plays with himself.’

  ‘It’s going to be even more embarrassing for him, having you watch. I’ll escort him by myself if you like.’

  ‘And that’s not going to be embarrassing?’

  ‘Men don’t mind doing it in front of women. They just don’t like doing it in front of other men.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  ‘I’ve had plenty of men do it in front of me. Surely you’ve done it in front of women, haven’t you?’

  ‘No, I have not!’ said Duncan indignantly.

  ‘Have you done it in front of a man?’ Jennifer asked slyly.

  ‘Certainly not!’ His voice was even more outraged. ‘I never do it.’

  ‘If you say so. Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is Jasper won’t manage it with you looking on. So not only will we be hanging around for hours while he tries, we’ll cop it in the neck from Diana if supplies run out. Rebecca’s ovulating — Theresa needs Jasper’s sample tonight.’

  ‘He’s too dangerous to be escorted by a single person,’ Duncan mumbled.

  ‘Rubbish. He’s a broken man, as you well know. He’s a pussy cat. Anyway, it’s up to you. Of course, if you want to watch him play with himself I understand. In fact, why don’t you join him? I noticed your jar was in Theresa’s surgery when I picked up Jasper’s. I can watch you both.’

  Shortly before two o’clock that afternoon, Jennifer called on Duncan to help her escort Jasper back to his cell.

  ‘I’ve got to go and check the horses,’ he said hurriedly. ‘You’ll have to get someone else to help.’

  Jennifer smiled to herself. She had seen Diana leave the park with Paul on a foraging expedition; they had taken the electric truck so they would be away for some time. Everyone could relax. She didn’t bother asking anyone else to help her, she just walked straight across to the Punishment Room.

  Damian and Jasper were both peddling their treadmills furiously, sweat dripping from their bodies. Electricity usage had been high due to the laundry having operated all morning. The two brothers were struggling to keep the needles above their target positions.

  As she entered the room Jasper stepped off his treadmill and stood back, arching his back and rubbing his shins.

  ‘Tell the Morgans to get Greg over here sharpish,’ Damian implored. ‘I can’t keep these needles above the mark for long.’

  ‘We’d better get a move on then,’ Jennifer said to Jasper.

  Jasper stopped massaging his limbs and picked up his ball. When they reached the doorway opposite she found both Susan and Theresa already at the base of the tower, waiting to collect Greg.

  ‘Why are you by yourself?’ Theresa challenged.

  ‘Everybody else is busy. Anyway, I knew you’d be here to collect Greg. Don’t worry, I’ve got him sussed.’ Jasper stood, head bowed, a few metres from the door as Jennifer unlocked it. ‘By the way, you need to get Greg across to the Punishment Room ASAP. Damian’s struggling to keep the needles up.’

  ‘Tough,’ Susan laughed.

  ‘But it’s not just him that’s going to suffer, is it?’ Jennifer scolded her. ‘If the battery levels are down, the Leader will cancel the film show tonight.’

  Susan and Theresa hurried off to collect Greg, and on their way back down stopped at the open doorway to Jasper’s cell.

  ‘Why haven’t you locked him up yet?’ Theresa said.

  ‘The collection. Your orders, remember?’

  ‘Well, don’t be long,’ Theresa snapped, and three sets of footsteps clattered down the stone spiral staircase.

  ‘Sounds to me like your Leader’s already nominated her successor,’ Jasper said quietly as the echoing footsteps faded. ‘How come you let that little bitch Theresa talk to you like that?’

  Jennifer chose to ignore the question and asked one of her own instead. ‘Do you fancy a shower before you eat? It’s just cold meat and salad.’

  ‘I’d love one.’ There was a ring of genuine gratitude in his voice. His weekly shower was not due for another four days.

  ‘Come on then.’

  She stood aside and followed him to the small shower cubicle that had been constructed for the prisoners on the second floor. She stood at the doorway and watched as he took off his clothes and struggled to manoeuvre the chain and heavy ball through the leg of his trousers. He turned on the taps and allowed the water to caress his body before lathering himself with soap.

  He noticed her watching him. ‘You can come and join me if you like,’ he said.

  ‘Hurry up.’

  He rinsed off the suds and began to dry himself, ensuring he was facing her. Then he struggled again to feed the heavy ball and chain through the leg of his trousers before donning his shirt, lifting the iron ball and returning up the stairs to his cell.

  ‘Why did I get an extra shower?’ he asked as he ate his meal.

  Jennifer was sitting on the bed watching him. ‘I need a contribution.’

  ‘A contribution?’

  She took the jar from her pocket and held it up.

  He smiled. ‘Well, that’s going to brighten up my day.’ He finished his meal quickly. ‘Usual routine?’ he asked, putting down his spoon.

  She nodded. He waited for her to move to the corner of the room, then carried his ball across to the bed and placed it on the floor. He undressed, then lay down naked on the bed, put his arms through the bedhead and closed his eyes while she tied him up. Once he was secure, she knelt down beside him. He was ready for her, his penis standing erect.

  ‘This could be a lot more fun for you,’ he said, opening his eyes and smiling at her. ‘Let’s make love first.’

  ‘Fat chance.’

  ‘Please, let me make you happy.’

  She stood up and undressed hurriedly, her clothes cascading to the floor. Then she straddled him and pulled him into her. Unable to touch her with his hands, Jasper kissed her nipples and ran his tongue over her breasts, thrusting himself up into her as she bore down on to him. They climaxed together and lay panting
, their heads touching. ‘Don’t wait so long again,’ he whispered softly in her ear ‘We both need this.’

  Suddenly she lifted her head, remembering her original mission. ‘I need your contribution. Our beloved leader will be back soon.’

  Jasper smiled. ‘Help yourself.’

  Jasper remained the model prisoner, always courteous, always quiet and placid. The Steed family continued to relax. While two members of the family always escorted him back to his cell at two in the afternoon, when Diana might be prowling about, Jennifer was increasingly left to handle his collection at ten o’clock at night. Since Jasper relieved Damian, whose cell was off Stable Court, no one had cause to be in Cromwell’s Tower at that time. Duncan was usually in bed, exhausted, and assumed Jennifer would ask one of the other women to accompany her. So as not to arouse suspicion, she would usually ask the person who looked busiest and if they complained, she would offer to do the escort alone. As a result, several evenings each week she would make her way to Cromwell’s Tower early and grab precious time alone with her lover.

  ‘I could make you a lot happier if I wasn’t tied to this bedhead,’ Jasper said one night.

  She sat across him, running her fingers through the hair on his chest. ‘Fat chance.’

  ‘I wish I could caress your breasts and touch your butt,’ he sighed when she climaxed. ‘Go on, untie my hands.’

  ‘Fat chance,’ she said again.

  ‘I’m hardly going to do anything stupid, am I?’ he protested. ‘This is the one highlight of my life. I’m not going to jeopardise it. What else has either of us got to look forward to?’

  Jennifer said nothing. She wanted him to be able to touch her too.

  When they weren’t making love, they would lie beside one another and talk. She would complain about other members of the community, particularly Diana, and he would listen and commiserate. He would complain about his brothers, particularly Damian, who he claimed was the cause of his family’s problems. He never mentioned the fact he had shot Warren Dalton in cold blood himself, and Jennifer never mentioned it either.