This story follows on directly from the previous chapters, which in turn follow on from 'All Things Come...To He Who Waits'. Some characters from the first volume have reappeared, and Luke's personality and abilities are assumed to be already known. The rhythm of the narrative is changing, but it is still the same story....
After posting eighteen chapters of the Luke Lancer Saga in the previous format, (plot and character / some hot / more plot and character / more hot / close chapter, between 5000 and 6000 words per chapter), it was beginning to feel a bit tired. I like the characters and want to continue with their story, so in this and subsequent chapters, I'll be experimenting with different styles and approaches: mainly to see if it works for you, the reader, but also to stretch myself, the author.
Thanks for all the feedback. Constructive comments always welcome.
Satyricon.
JANUARY. AUSTRIA / THEMALDIVES / BRUSSELS / THEBALKANS
AUSTRIA
There are webs, invisible but real, that connect people who care for each other. Uli lay on her familiar bed and thought about who mattered to her. Her mother and Karl, of course; her friends here in Vienna; the new friends she'd made at college in Munich; Luke...
She pondered about that. He wasn't fixed like everyone else, but he was part of her universe. He was who he was, and he couldn't be defined. She couldn't imagine not having him in her life, but she knew that if she ever tried to tie him down he'd drift away like smoke in the wind. On the other hand if she really needed him he'd be there. She was sure of that. Her hand drifted down to her crotch and she began to stroke herself gently. Thinking about him always made her damp. There was a light tap at the door and she sighed.
'Come in, Mum.' The door opened and Frau Fischer, Angela, came in, carrying a tray.
'No party tonight, I'm bored with the TV, and Karl's been on the phone to Bea for hours and probably isn't going to hang up till next week, so I thought I'd come and bother you. What are you up to?' Her daughter smiled.
'I'm meant to be planning my design show, but I started thinking about Luke, and I was just beginning to touch myself up when you came in and spoiled everything.' Mother and daughter caught each others' eye and laughed. Angela offered Uli the tray.
'Hot chocolate with cream and Kirsch, as a sinful nightcap. Where is Luke, anyway?' Uli pouted exaggeratedly.
'In the Maldives with Trudi and Inge, and I'm feeling a bit jealous. I know I told him I was going to be tied up with college work and everything, but I do wish he'd tried a little harder to persuade me. I've got a sort of Luke-substitute at college, and he's a nice guy, and sexy too, but he doesn't quite cut it. I wish I didn't compare everyone with Luke.' Her mother nodded.
'I know that feeling. You didn't try to pin him down, did you?' Uli shook her head.
'We agreed we'd do something in the Spring. I'll try to think of something as a surprise.' Her eyes sparkled with sudden mischief. 'Maybe I'll take you along. That'd be a treat for him.' Angela smiled wryly.
'Mothers and daughters shouldn't even think about that sort of thing. But even if you did, I know he wouldn't let either of us down. We're a terrible pair of sluts, aren't we?'
'Not at all,' said her daughter robustly, 'Luke took us and shook us and made us both better, and we both love him a little bit and we don't mind saying so. And if you want to visit him I'll give you his address. So there!' She sat back in the bed, slightly flushed. Angela felt a prickling behind her eyes.
'I remember when he brought you back here after your trip last summer. You'd turned into a woman and I could see so much of myself in you, and he noticed straight away and got out of the way in a flash so we could be with each other. He seems to understand things somehow...'
THE MALDIVES
Inge turned over lazily and took the few strokes necessary to bring her alongside Trudi. The smaller girl was lolling in the shallows, her body dark after five days of tropical sun, and her hair floating around her head in the warm water. She was tugging idly at the two hair extensions that were the only decoration on her otherwise smooth mound, her eyes closed, her breasts just breaking the surface. Inge rolled smoothly and lay next to her. The thin gold chains that linked her nipples and clitoris shimmered against the glow of her slender body.
'Penny for your thoughts,' she murmured as she lifted the chains delicately, pulling her tiny, chocolate-dark teats away from her body and feeling the glowing wave of pleasure as her clit was treated to the same pressure. Trudi spoke without opening her eyes.
'I'm thinking about us and Luke and if it's going anywhere. I love him more than I want to, and I think you do too, and I love you and Uli, and Olga too, and you're my best friend, but ... there's a part of me that's getting all possessive. It frightens me a bit.' Inge looked at her friend.
'You've just said what I've been thinking. It wasn't till we arrived that I realized how much I'd been missing him. It's his own fault for being such a good guy; no, more than a good guy, a very special one. What are we going to do?'
'If we push, he'll be gone,' said Trudi quietly, 'He's always been completely upfront about not committing and he's not going to break his own rules. That's one of the reasons that we trust him. And another thing: if we really pushed, I think Uli would end up at the top of his pile. He likes us, and he's made us like ourselves more, but we were adults when we met him. With Uli it was different. You didn't know her then, but she was so spoilt, and neglected at the same time, and he showed her how to become the person she was meant to be, and his feelings for her are different. He's almost like an artist with his creation. You've seen the way he looks at her sometimes.' Inge nodded.
'It's something we'll have to work at. Not here, though, and not now. What do you want to do?' Trudi sat up and leaned over her friend. She tugged delicately at one slender chain and lowered her mouth to the small breast that was pulled to the surface.
'I want us to get the salt off and warm each other up in the shower, and when we're hot and ready to go we'll wake him up and bop his socks off. It's my turn for his cock this time.'
BRUSSELS
Laura finished tallying the week's figures and turned the computer off thankfully. She stretched to get the stiffness out of her neck and shoulders and wondered what to do next. Jeanne was on the desk and there were no more chores till the morning. She stretched again and wished the English teacher was back from wherever he'd gone for Christmas. Now would have been just the moment to see if he had a couple of hours to spare for a friend with privileges. She thought, not for the first time, how strange it was that he'd never tried to pressure her into bed. Of course, there were the two students who visited, and the older woman, their boss, and the beautiful Austrian girl, so it wasn't as if he was frustrated, but still... it made him unusual, to say the least. When she spoke to him he looked at her, and not at her breasts, she thought inconsequentially; that was rare, too. Her pussy tingled pleasantly: thinking about him was having its usual effect.
'I'm going to have a shower and then get something to eat, Jeanne,' she told the receptionist. Jeanne was reading a gossip magazine and nodded absently, and Laura stood and made for the lift.
In the shower, relaxing under the hot water, her hands drifted to her crotch. She rolled the ball of her thumb over her mound, feeling the tiny friction of her fine hair against the soft skin, and wriggled as she felt her pussy lips respond to the pressure. One finger slipped into the top of her slit and she began to stroke the little bump of her clitoral sheath. She closed her eyes and imagined that he was with her and that her finger was his tongue lapping at her tenderly, making her feel less like a big blonde cow and more like a prized delicacy. She brought her other hand up to her mouth and suckled on a finger, wishing that it was his cock, long and thick and hard, sliding over her lips...
THE BALKANS
'Not here, Goran,' said Anita irritably as she removed her boyfriend's hand from her breast for the third time in five minutes. 'My mother's in the next room, and anyway, I'm tired.' She moved away from him slightly and tried to ignore the sulky look on his face. It wasn't his fault, she thought. Brussels had opened her eyes and her mind, and home was suddenly provincial and dull, and poor Goran was provincial and dull too. He'd been pathetically glad to see her, and he'd been as attentive and loving as he could, but...
The Englishman was teaching her more than English, she realized, but she still wasn't quite sure what it was. All he did was listen quietly and make some gentle suggestions, and then fuck her in the way she'd always dreamt about, driving her harder and higher than she'd ever imagined possible. Always before, sex had left her feeling vaguely unfulfilled, even after a perfectly good orgasm, but with him, when he'd dragged her over the edge and let her soar and plunge in spirals of uncontrollable sensation, and then held her quietly, helping her come down without a bump, he'd always made sure she still felt cherished and wanted and warm and complete. She was glad he'd made no demands on her: she wasn't sure she'd be able to deny him anything... Goran made another grab for her and tried to kiss her, and she pushed him away again, pretending not to notice the hurt in his eyes.