Once. Part 19

'P'haps he forgot,' Nell replied, leaning against the doorframe and placing a hand on her jutting hip. She was still smiling. 'Shouldn't think he'd be long though, not if he knew you were comin'.'

'I hope not. He really does need his exercises.'

'I'm sure he does. I'm Nell, by the way. I often look in on Thom just to see how he's gettin' on.

Sometimes I bring him groceries, sometimes somethin' else...' Her voice trailed away.

'Do you know where he's got to?' Katy glanced down at her wrist.w.a.tch, noting that she, herself, had arrived just a little late and that now it was more than ten minutes after the appointed time.

*Why don't you bring yourself inside and wait? His car is still here, so he's prob'ly only gone for a short walk.'

Without hesitation, Katy moved towards the doorway and Nell stepped aside, allowing her to pa.s.s.

Nell closed

the front door behind them, barely taking her eyes off the therapist as Katy wandered across the room to stop at the kitchen table.

'What lovely flowers,' the therapist said as she placed the sports bag on the floor and fingered the bright, speckled petals. 'Orchids, aren't they?' She glanced back at Nell, who nodded.

'Early Purple, they're called,' said Nell. 'Orchis mascula. Common Male Orchid. I grow them myself.'

As Katy studied the orchids, noticing that the ten-inch stalks were still attached to their fleshy tubers, she failed to see the sudden gleam in Nell's dark eyes. The therapist wrinkled her nose.

'Can't say I like the smell too much, though,' she said. She turned towards the other woman. 'Have you known Thom long?' she asked, as if merely making polite conversation.

Nell, who had an instinct for such things, immediately knew it was not a casual question. The b.i.t.c.h has taken a fancy to him, she thought. And why not? Thom is a good-looking man, quite a catch for any woman who doesn't mind an invalid for a lover. Nell was surprisingly annoyed at the idea. 'No, not long,' she replied evenly, moving in closer to the therapist. 'I'm a trained nurse and Thom's friend, Hugo Bleeth, pays me to keep an eye on him.'

'Hugo Bleeth. Isn't he the owner of the big mansion, what's it called - Bracken?'

'Castle Bracken. No, his father, Sir Russell, owns the place and all the land around it.'

'How wonderful. I haven't seen much of the estate, but what I have seen looks brilliant. Are the house and grounds open to the public?'

*What makes you ask that?' Nell's response was unexpectedly sharp.

Taken aback, Katy replied: 'No reason. It's just that so many country houses and their estates are open to the public

nowadays. The money from tourists helps keep these places viable.'

Nell caught herself and smiled back sweetly. So, a nosy b.i.t.c.h too. Has a thing for Thom Kindred and wants to know other people's business as well. Attractive, though. In fact, the more you look, the more attractive she becomes. Thom might easily go for someone like this, 'specially when she is helpin' him get his health back. Nurse and patient kind of thing, and I know all about that. Nell felt a mixture of emotions - it was she, Nell, who wanted Thom Kindred's undivided attention today, especially as she had already begun her plan (her gaze went to the flowers lying on the kitchen table). And there was something else, another emotion to vie with the others. It was attraction. Attraction for this girl.

The grey tracksuit trousers may have been a little baggy, but they did not disguise the impressive length of the legs inside them. And the tight T-shirt showed off the unharnessed b.r.e.a.s.t.s wonderfully. Why, the coolness of the kitchen had even encouraged the nipples beneath the yellow cotton to present themselves. Unless, of course, this Katy was also attracted to Nell...

'I was jus' goin' to prepare the flowers as a surprise for Thom when you arrived. Thought they might brighten up the place. Would you like to help me?'

Nell's voice was low, almost smoky in its huskiness.

Katy felt ill at ease. There was something weird about this woman and she was like no other nurse she had ever met. Darkly attractive, with the kind of overtly s.e.xy looks many men went for. For a moment she wondered about Thom Kindred and this woman. Was there something going on between them? Was it more than just nurse and patient? Thom was single, his health was swiftly returning, he lived alone in this cottage, so who could blame him if such a voluptuous female with stunningly dusky eyes and a ravishing smile turned him on? Her figure was good - no, her

figure was great - and her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were plainly ample beneath the low-cut blouse, the middle line of cleavage ... Katy checked herself, not fully understanding the disquiet she was feeling, the tension that was developing between herself and this woman. For the sake of distraction, Katy said: 'Yes, fine. What would you like me to do?'

Irrationally, the question hung in the air between them for a couple of beats.

'Help me strip the tubers from the stalks first. I can use the paste from the tubers as a remedy for all sorts of things.'

Oh, Katy thought, so she's also some kind of herbalist as well as a nurse. Well, alternative medicines were the thing nowadays and there was no reason they couldn't work alongside the more conventional kind.

'Sure,' she said, going towards the table again (she realized that she had unconsciously moved a few steps away from the other woman as they talked). She picked up several orchids by their stems, noticing the dust that fell from them as she did so. 'What shall I do with them?'

Take them over to the sink,' Nell instructed, 'and find a good sharp knife from the drawer. Cut the tubers from the stalks, then slice them. I'll find a pot to mash the remains in.'

Katy did as she was told, separating four orchids from the bunch and taking them over to the draining board beside the sink. She laid them down, disliking their smell intensely, and rummaged in one of the drawers for a sharp knife. While Nell looked through overhead cupboards for a suitable receptacle, Katy sliced into the first tuber, severing it from its stalk with one easy cut.

'Here,' Nell said as she placed an earthenware bowl in the sink. This'll do as a mortar. A big soup spoon can be a pestle. I should've brought a mortar and pestle with me, but I came out in a rush.' In fact, Nell had had no intention of bringing such implements, for the more fingers that

came in touch with the tubers - those fingers originally were meant to be Thom's, but what the h.e.l.l? This might be even more fun. It had been a long time, after all - and the mushy substance that came from them, the more effective the result. Nell moistened her lips with her tongue as she handed the small bowl to Katy, who had opened the same drawer again and brought out a heavy ladling spoon.

Will this do?' asked Katy, holding the spoon aloft.

'Ideal/ replied Nell with a nod of her head. Her eyes held Katy's for a second.

What is with her? Katy wondered. Those glances of hers, glances that took in Katy's b.r.e.a.s.t.s and hips - what was her agenda?

'Slice them,' the dark-haired, dark-eyed woman told her.

'Sorry?'

The tubers. Slice and dice. I'll get the other orchids.'

Katy mentally shrugged. Nell could have done this herself. She, Katy, was a physiotherapist, not ahorticulturalist. And anyway, it seemed a shame to spoil such beautiful flowers, with their creamy petals and purplish spotted centres. Their scent wasn't too endearing, but the orchids themselves would make a wonderful centrepiece for the table. Urgh! The tubers had mushy insides. Her fingers were becoming sticky with it. Weren't these out of season? Katy thought she had read somewhere that they bloomed in spring and early summer, but these appeared to be at their best. Maybe Nell had her own greenhouse and green fingers to go with it. She, herself, had never come across this variety before. Hmn. The pulp was almost... well, almost sensual.

She continued to mash the cuttings and slices with their oozy pulp. There was a strange pressure in her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

Nell, pretending to fiddle with the flowers on the kitchen table, kept a sly eye on the physiotherapist.

Her gaze held a glint of expectancy and she, too, began to feel a stirring in her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, nipples stiffening, pushing against the soft material of her blouse. She picked out an orchid that sprang

from a particularly large tuber base and artfully pierced the greenish-white skin with her long thumbnail.

It bled pulp, which she spread over her other fingers, even dabbing some into her cleavage and on her neck directly below her chin. Why wait for Thom Kindred when there was such an enjoyable diversion so close at hand? Besides, if Thom returned soon, he might even be persuaded to join in without using this aphrodisiac. Nell's original intention had been to get Thom to help her prepare the orchids so that the extract from their tubers would swiftly and easily penetrate the skin of his hands. Called (by those in the know) Satyrion, the gooey substance was a fast-acting s.e.xual stimulant, one so effective that its properties remained covert. There were other common amatory stimulants that she could have used - anything from hashish to avocado pears, nutmeg to broad beans, yohimbine to the skins of baby bananas; you only needed to know the recipes - but the Early Purple Orchid was the easiest for Nell's purposes.

And its potency was astonishing.

She cast another sly glance at the therapist, who was busy at the sink; a red flush was creeping round the girl's neck, spreading from her chest.

'Here's a good one,' Nell said, walking over to stand beside Katy.

'What do you do with this?'

Was there the slightest quiver in Katy's voice?

'Oh, I can use it for lots of things,' Nell replied mildly. The ancient Greeks mixed it with goat's milk. I like to use it in ice cream.'

'Ice cream? Really?' Slimy goo covered her fingers.

'It's easy. Gelatine, brown sugar or honey, vanilla essence. It's delicious with chocolate ice cream. 'Yes, but what do you use it for, just the taste?'

'Let's say it gives a sense of well being. It can be quite invigorating.'

Katy paused in her work. 'It's not some kind of drug, is it?'

Nell laughed. 'No, it's a natural chemical. Good for invalids. S'why I brought the orchids here for Thom.' Her voice had taken on an intimate tone, as if she was sharing a secret. 'We do want him to get well, don't we?'

For some reason unknown to herself, Katy blushed. Yes, Thom. She really did want him to recover from his illness. There was something about him, something she found very ... attractive.

Nell was handing her another orchid, holding it by the stem, her own skin slick with juices from the punctured tuber.

Try this one,' Nell was saying, but oddly, her voice did not sound nearby. 'It almost burst of its own accord.'

Katy took it from her, grasping the split tuber because it was offered first. She felt its pulp on her skin.

A p.r.i.c.kly sensation was running over the surface of her body and she realized she was taking shorter breaths than usual. Thom. It would be so good to see him again. Now she was surprised to feel a slight dampness between her legs, as if juices of her own were seeping. She pressed her lower belly against the side of the kitchen working surface, relishing the pressure, but conscious that she was not alone. The points of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were tingling.

She had to clear her throat before she could speak. 'D'you suppose he'll be long?'

'I already told you,' Nell replied softly, staring into Katy's dilated eyes. 'I'm sure he's only gone for a short walk in the woods. We can entertain ourselves while we wait, can't we?'

Nell knew she had to play it carefully. Be patient, give it time to work, she told herself. Don't frighten her off by making a move too soon. Had the girl any experience of other women? Not openly, Nell was sure of that. She seemed to be too fond of Thom to be attracted to someone of her

own s.e.x. But who knew, these days? Who truly knew of the inclinations of others at a time when shame was hardly a factor any more? These days boys and girls could swing any way they fancied without risking persecution. It was a good time for women like Nell.

She noticed that Katy's breaths were becoming shorter and harsher, the red flush from her chest very much in evidence above the T-shirt's neckline. She reached out a hand to touch the therapist's bare arm and sensed an immediate reaction.

Katy felt her flesh tingle at Nell's soft touch, and the sensation spread up her arm, seemed to invade her entire body, bit by bit, stealth its ally. And yet she did not recoil from the other woman's touch, for the feeling was pleasant and not unwelcome. What was happening to her? Good G.o.d, she was feeling aroused. She pressed against the low cupboard door, not daring to look at her companion at the sink.

Every part of her felt tensed, strained, an exquisite feeling running with her blood, arteries widening at certain points in her body, increasing the awareness there - her groin, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, the sides of her neck, the skin between her shoulder blades and inside her elbows, her thighs ... Katy dropped the spoon into the bowl of sticky juice and gripped the edge of the sink. What was happening to her?

The woman beside her spoke soothingly and yet her voice was still distant, almost as if Kary had created a sh.e.l.l around herself, but one that she wished - she yearned for it - to be broken, breached.

Invaded. She needed to be touched and she almost sobbed with the uncontrollability of it all. She wasn't like this. She had only ever wanted another female's touch when she was very young, a schoolgirl's crush that had come to nothing. Nothing, that is, but her own touch, dreaming that her own hand belonged to the other older girl she admired so much. And then there was the other time, the only other time, the one Katy had shoved from her mind over and over again, for it had shamed her,

made her feel less of herself, and its recurring memory was her penance.

Nell remained cautious, keeping her voice low, its tone soothing, persuasive.

'You're so pretty,' she said, feeling her own wetness between her legs, the wonderful irritation inside her v.a.g.i.n.a, the stiffening of her c.l.i.toris, the swelling of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Her fingers ran lightly around the back of Katy's neck. 'So very pretty.' The huskiness in her voice was emphasized.

Nell wanted to release Katy's hair from its restricting rubber band, but she was aware of how delicate this moment was. Anything that required effort at this stage could easily alarm the girl, bring her out of the mood she'd unknowingly entered so that she would reject any further advances on Nell's part.

Slowly, gently, stroke the neck, speaking quietly, softly, seductively...

It was of her own accord that Katy turned to face Nell. Behind the wire-framed gla.s.ses, her eyes were wide, confused, as if she knew what was happening but did not know how it was happening.

'What are you doing?' she heard herself say, and her own voice seemed distant to her now and there was no anger, no rejection, in its tone. She was burning and the fire was spreading from the flesh between her hips and thighs.

'It's all right,' came the other's voice. 'Everything's well, and nice. You are beautiful, you know.'

The next move was the most important of all, for it was invasive and would leave the therapist open, vulnerable -perhaps defensive. Slowly Nell reached up and gently, oh so gently, removed Katy's spectacles, holding them by their corners and softly, easily lifting, sliding the arms away from her ears. If Katy was going to object, if she was going to react negatively, then it would be now, as soon as those light gla.s.ses were gone, when her vision had softened and psychologically she was at Nell's mercy.

Katy did take in a sudden shorter and sharper breath, a kind of surprised gasp, but she did not utter another sound, nor did she grab Nell's wrist. Nell's smile corrupted to a hideous grin.

FROM ANOTHER REALM.

THOM FELT wonderfully at peace.