‘That’s ridiculous, Eleanor. I just want her to be safe, and thanks to you, I can’t guarantee that, can I?’
‘Oh, Finn, why do you worry so?’
‘You know why I worry.’
Eleanor pushed off the duvet and rose to kneel behind him to run hands along his shoulders and place a kiss against the spot where his pulse thudded in his neck. Then she brushed his wild morning hair away from his ear and spoke in what was barely a whisper, spoke so softly that Jill strained against her bindings to hear. ‘That was a long time ago, Finn. It was a mistake. I never intended to hurt Lisa. You know that. It won’t happen again, and certainly not with Jill. She’s so much stronger, so much more herself. And so totally delightful, don’t you think? Finn, I won’t hurt her. I would never.’
‘You said that about Lisa.’ Finn shrugged off her embrace, and stood. ‘And I was left to pick up the pieces.’ Then he turned his back on her and left the bedroom, slamming the door behind him.
* * *
Jill woke with a start, sitting upright in the honeyed threads of sunlight that penetrated the high window of Finn’s room. She was alone in the big bed, and the sound of traffic on Shoreditch High Street was all that broke the silence. She chafed her arms and looked around at framed vintage playbills of Gilbert & Sullivan productions next to brightly coloured posters of comic books displayed in brightly coloured frames. Built-in bookshelves along one wall overflowed. The black leather settee was still draped in her clothes. The shelves, the bedside table, the windowsill were all littered with erotic sculptures ranging from tiny all the way up to a free-standing statue of Priapus at the end of the settee, enormous cock hefted at the ready. The ropes were gone but the room still smelled of last night’s sexual escapades. Beneath that was the smell of herbs that made her think of a summer field, and beneath that still was the scent of maleness, the scent of Finn, and it was that scent that she felt low in her belly and wet between her thighs.
‘He’s working.’ Eleanor’s voice filled Jill’s head, and Jill let out a startled gasp. It was still not something she was used to, being demon-possessed. ‘Finn. He’s working. He only left a little while ago.’
The dream came back to Jill, and she shivered. But before she could dwell on it, Eleanor’s presence settled like a warm blanket around her, and she couldn’t quite remember what it was from the dream that had frightened her. Anyway it was just a dream, wasn’t it? ‘He’s working on a Sunday?’ she asked.
‘Not in Kinky Boots. He has other responsibilities, Sole Alliance responsibilities.’
‘I thought you were Sole Alliance’s responsibility.’ Jill said.
‘Responsibility isn’t exactly the word I would have used,’ Eleanor huffed. ‘But if you choose to view me that way, well, let’s just say I’m not their only responsibility.’
Jill lay back on the bed and stretched against the sheets that Finn dreamed on. She wondered if he dreamed about her. For a moment she basked in the strange afterglow until curiosity got the best of her, then she threw back the covers and moved cautiously to stand in front of the mirror over the dresser. The ache of a lot of sex after a long abstinence was all over her. It was an ache that made her smile. As the night’s adventures came rushing back to her in detail, she examined her body. There were places where the ropes had left marks, but on a whole very few, and in spite of herself Jill felt disappointed not to have more.
‘Meinrad’s very good at what he does.’ Eleanor said. ‘If you wanted to be marked, you only needed to ask.’
‘I’ll remember that next time.’ And to her surprise, Jill found she wasn’t totally opposed to the idea of a next time. She tilted her head from side to side, cupping her breasts, studying herself. ‘I don’t look any different,’ she said. ‘I mean, I figured being possessed and all, I might look a little different, I don’t know, different colour eyes or something.’
Eleanor laughed softly. ‘It doesn’t work that way, my sweet Jill. But trust me, though you may not look different from your point of view, from mine there’s suddenly a great deal more to you. As though you’ve decided to open up a few more rooms in the mansion. And other people will notice the difference, though they may not be able to put their finger on it.’
* * *
Jill didn’t linger at Finn’s place, in spite of the desire to learn more about him. For some reason she had an overwhelming urge to go home. Eleanor assured her that it was normal to seek out the familiar when so much of her context had changed in such a short time. She threw on Vivie’s well-worn skirt and headed back to her house, stopping at the Co-op on the way to buy the ingredients for a fry-up. She was starving.