Read Online Serving Mr. Stevens, Part Four: The Price of Pleasure -- An Erotic Romance (Part 4 of 5) by Nathan Stratton - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Nathan Stratton
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off and tucked it under my arm. I needed to be able to see clearly to get down the stairwell in the dim lighting, and for some reason removing the mask seemed to help me think straight. I knew that Mr. Stevens was still up there, somewhere, and God knows what was happening to him.
But I had to put that aside for now, and focus on getting the two of us to safety. If Katarina knew Mr. Kearns was dead, then so did many others. It was only a matter of time before the word spread, and surely someone at the party would mention the two women who’d run out of the room like they’d had wolves on their heels.
I watched Katarina hurrying down the stairs below me, balancing precariously on the heels of her stilettos. I knew she was running on pure adrenaline. This wasn’t good; I needed her clear-headed. I stopped her again on the landing.
“Katarina, breathe ,” I implored her. “Please. Just breathe.”
My words were meant to calm her down, but I didn’t get the response I was looking for. Instead she burst into tears and ripped off her mask, throwing it on the floor and then crushing it under her heel for good measure. I’d never seen her lose her composure like this. Her mascara was all over her face, and her lipstick was smeared down the corner of her mouth. Her cheeks were blotchy with the force of her crying. She was a beautiful woman, but in her current state of devastation, she looked like a different person entirely. “I don’t know what to do!” she cried, sobbing. Her voice was shaky, on the verge of frantic. “Where is he?”
It was the question on both of our minds: where was Mr. Stevens? For now, it seemed I would have to be the voice of reason, even though inside I was just as panicked as she was. “Look, we’ll figure it out, okay? We’ve got time. It will take a while for Carl to get here. We’ve got time to try and find him.”
Katarina shook her head. “We can’t go back in there.”
“We’re not going back in there. Let’s just go downstairs and try calling again. Come on, let’s walk,” I coaxed her. “Slowly.”
She nodded, her tears subsiding a bit. She carefully walked down the stairs, slower now, and steadier on her feet. Now that I had calmed her down a little, I had time to think for myself a bit.
Peter Kearns, dead? It seemed unbelievable. I’d been speaking to him an hour ago, with Henrickson at his arm. They’d been a creepy pair, that was for sure. I immediately thought of the stories I’d heard from Carl of Mr. Stevens’ past. How his mother had held the company together, or tried to, while that conniving Kearns tried to make it his own. If anyone would be glad to know Peter Kearns was gone, it would be Mr. Stevens’ mother…
Or Mr. Stevens himself. As soon as the thought came unbidden into my mind, I squinted my eyes against it and tried to force it away. He’d been with me – I had to trust my instincts about that. I knew it was him, mask or no mask. But even so, he’d left me alone in the mirrored room – and I’d taken my time after his departure, staring into the mirror and collecting myself as I always had to do after our passionate encounters.
Could that have been enough time for him to find Kearns and kill him? Or, even more unbearable – had he killed Kearns before coming to seduce me?
I pushed these horrible thoughts out of my mind and tried to stay calm as I followed Katarina down the long stairwell. It seemed to be endless, and far too dark – a complete mismatch for such an opulent building. When we got to the ground floor, Katarina headed straight for the sidewalk. If she noticed the looks she was getting, the attention that her streaked mascara and tear-stained face brought from passers-by, she paid no attention.
The car pulled up just as we came out onto the street. Carl stepped out, his eyes immediately widening with alarm.
“…Miss?” he asked, his face clouded with worry. He
But I had to put that aside for now, and focus on getting the two of us to safety. If Katarina knew Mr. Kearns was dead, then so did many others. It was only a matter of time before the word spread, and surely someone at the party would mention the two women who’d run out of the room like they’d had wolves on their heels.
I watched Katarina hurrying down the stairs below me, balancing precariously on the heels of her stilettos. I knew she was running on pure adrenaline. This wasn’t good; I needed her clear-headed. I stopped her again on the landing.
“Katarina, breathe ,” I implored her. “Please. Just breathe.”
My words were meant to calm her down, but I didn’t get the response I was looking for. Instead she burst into tears and ripped off her mask, throwing it on the floor and then crushing it under her heel for good measure. I’d never seen her lose her composure like this. Her mascara was all over her face, and her lipstick was smeared down the corner of her mouth. Her cheeks were blotchy with the force of her crying. She was a beautiful woman, but in her current state of devastation, she looked like a different person entirely. “I don’t know what to do!” she cried, sobbing. Her voice was shaky, on the verge of frantic. “Where is he?”
It was the question on both of our minds: where was Mr. Stevens? For now, it seemed I would have to be the voice of reason, even though inside I was just as panicked as she was. “Look, we’ll figure it out, okay? We’ve got time. It will take a while for Carl to get here. We’ve got time to try and find him.”
Katarina shook her head. “We can’t go back in there.”
“We’re not going back in there. Let’s just go downstairs and try calling again. Come on, let’s walk,” I coaxed her. “Slowly.”
She nodded, her tears subsiding a bit. She carefully walked down the stairs, slower now, and steadier on her feet. Now that I had calmed her down a little, I had time to think for myself a bit.
Peter Kearns, dead? It seemed unbelievable. I’d been speaking to him an hour ago, with Henrickson at his arm. They’d been a creepy pair, that was for sure. I immediately thought of the stories I’d heard from Carl of Mr. Stevens’ past. How his mother had held the company together, or tried to, while that conniving Kearns tried to make it his own. If anyone would be glad to know Peter Kearns was gone, it would be Mr. Stevens’ mother…
Or Mr. Stevens himself. As soon as the thought came unbidden into my mind, I squinted my eyes against it and tried to force it away. He’d been with me – I had to trust my instincts about that. I knew it was him, mask or no mask. But even so, he’d left me alone in the mirrored room – and I’d taken my time after his departure, staring into the mirror and collecting myself as I always had to do after our passionate encounters.
Could that have been enough time for him to find Kearns and kill him? Or, even more unbearable – had he killed Kearns before coming to seduce me?
I pushed these horrible thoughts out of my mind and tried to stay calm as I followed Katarina down the long stairwell. It seemed to be endless, and far too dark – a complete mismatch for such an opulent building. When we got to the ground floor, Katarina headed straight for the sidewalk. If she noticed the looks she was getting, the attention that her streaked mascara and tear-stained face brought from passers-by, she paid no attention.
The car pulled up just as we came out onto the street. Carl stepped out, his eyes immediately widening with alarm.
“…Miss?” he asked, his face clouded with worry. He
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