Melissa came awake slowly, only reluctantly releasing the luxurious drowsiness that enfolded her. Her eyes still shut, she stretched, enjoying the strain that peaked just before she went completely limp.
Oh, God, but she had had a good night! Just knowing she had John tucked safely down the hall, instead of lurking in the next bed ready to pounce on her, been such a burden removed from her mind. Melissa had been stupid not to arrange for separate rooms from the beginning. John could spend his whole nights beating off his fat cock meat, without forcing those obscenities on his wife.
Melissa opened her eyes and turned toward the clock on the bedside stand. My God, it was almost ten! She had really overindulged, hadn't she? Still, she deserved the rest. She hadn't slept really well since arrival.
Melissa sat up, wiped some of the remaining sleep out of her eyes. The room was still dark; but, Melissa could see the outline of another beautiful day as light seeped in around the heavy drapes which covered the window.
Melissa reached for the bell cord by the bed and gave it a hearty tug. She decided she would really indulge herself this morning. She would have a late breakfast in bed. There was the epitome of luxury!
Melissa fluffed up her pillows behind her back and waited… and waited… and waited.
She reached for the bell cord and gave another pull.
Strange. Very strange. Maybe the damn thing wasn't working! Funny, because it had been working last night.
Oh, well, she really didn't need breakfast in bed anyway, did she? No sense in getting in the habit now, even if she was an heiress.
Melissa pulled back the covers and climbed out from beneath the sheet and blanket. She fished for her slippers with the toe of one foot, and then slipped them on.
Melissa stretched again, hearing a faint popping as pressure was relieved somewhere along her spine. She then walked to the window and opened the drapes. Sunshine entered the room: warm and sensuously delicious. The swimming pool was a large blue rectangle below, bordered on one side by the cabana and formal gardens, bordered on the other side by the wide expanse of lawn.
Melissa looked, expecting to see one of the gardeners puttering around somewhere, but she saw no one.
Which wasn't necessarily strange – so, why did it suddenly seem so?
Melissa walked toward the bedroom door. She figured she would attempt to attract one of the servant's attention and have her draw the water for a tub bath. Melissa would then have to find someone to fix the bell cord. It was a bit inconvenient not having it working.
The door was locked! Not from the inside, either, since Melissa released the safety chain before even trying to open it. Melissa, after all, would have never chanced sleeping in the same house with John without having the safety chain secured. And now, after that disgusting display initiated by her brother in the forest – well, God only knew what might have happened if Melissa hadn't left the door secured when she retired.
Melissa tried the door again. Obviously, it wasn't locked. It was simply jammed.
No, damn it, it was not jammed! It was locked… and from the outside! Someone obviously had the key. But who? Melissa didn't even recall ever having seen the keys to all the doors. Yet, they had to exist somewhere.
More important than who was possibly the why? Why was Melissa locked in?
"Hello?" Melissa called to the door and anybody who might have been beyond. "Hello?"
She listened. She heard nothing. It was getting stranger and stranger. And who had once said that – or something similar – in what children's book Melissa had once read or, more than likely, had read to her?
Melissa pounded gently on the door with the palm of her hand, really feeling just a little bit ridiculous.
"Hello? My door seems to be stuck. Will somebody please give me a hand?"
Silence! But, damn it, how could there just be silence? There were always girls up at this level during this time of the morning. One of them should certainly have heard her and come running.
"I say, this damn door is stuck!" Melissa said loudly, pounding even harder on it than she had before. "Can someone out there please give me an assist?"
Nothing! This was getting to be a bit ridiculous!
Melissa, frustrated, stepped back from the door, telling herself there was no reason whatsoever to get upset. There was undoubtedly a logical explanation for all of this – even if it did momentarily escape her.
Melissa walked back to the window. She opened the latch, swinging the window open. It gave access to a small balcony that overlooked the grounds. Melissa stepped outside, being made even more uncomfortable by the fact that there was still no one in sight. Surely, there should have been someone!
Melissa came in from the balcony, having barely controlled an impulse to scream out at the top of her lungs. She refused, though, to act hysterical. She simply refused!
"Ah!" she voiced audibly, sighting the telephone next to the bed. Why in the hell hadn't she thought of the phone to begin with? She would simply call somebody, maybe one of the lawyers, and have him buzz back the house and inform someone of Melissa's predicament. All very simple. See, no need whatsoever to play silly female.
Melissa walked to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. She went through a brief minute of mental gymnastics in order to recall the number of the family law firm. She then reached for the phone. She was already almost half through the dialing process before she realized the line was dead.
Dead! Damn it, the phone was dead!
Melissa clicked frantically to get a connection – with no result.
"Hello!" Melissa screamed into the receiver. She immediately felt silly. She looked around sheepishly, like someone who had just been caught carrying on lengthy conversation with herself. She then slammed the receiver back on its cradle – hard.
Melissa continued sitting. Once more, she told herself that she had to be calm. No need to make a mountain out of a molehill. There was obviously… a… logical… explanation. For her door being locked? Yes, by God, locked! For her bell cord being suddenly broken? For the phone being dead?
Melissa shook her head to clear it. She simply refused to assume the unwanted role of some simpering heroine in some two-bit gothic novel.
A sound! Yes, a sound! From outside. A splashing of water. Someone had dived into the pool and was even now swimming around.
"Jesus, you're getting paranoid," Melissa said, giving a small laugh of relief. She had about let her imagination run away with her, hadn't she? Well, luckily, she hadn't done so. Because, there was now someone in the pool. She would merely have to call to get their attention, and then have them send up help.
Melissa headed back to the window and the small balcony beyond.
So, who was out there swimming? Melissa hoped it wasn't John! Wouldn't John have found it amusing that Melissa had moved out of their shared bedroom into one she couldn't now get out of?
Melissa stepped out on the balcony and went to the balustrade. She was just about to call out when her voice stuck in her throat.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing! She simply couldn't believe it! There, paddling around in the water, naked as a jay, was her brother. And, what was he trying to prove? No wonder Melissa couldn't drum up a maid. They were probably all sequestered behind convenient peepholes, watching Melissa's brother put on this disgusting display.
As if Creagon sensed his sister's presence – in truth he knew the minute she had come out on the balcony – he rolled to his back. The sunlight, like a spotlight, singled out Creagon's hard cock for the whole world to see.
"Ohhhhh!" Melissa heard herself saying in the process of sucking in a deep intake of breath. She was caught between an impulse to go back into the bedroom and an impulse to stay right where she was. It wasn't so much, she told herself, that the latter was caused by any prurient interest she might have toward her brother's naked body. It was simply that Melissa did want out of her room; and, so far, Creagon offered the only visible hope of succor. Melissa was afraid if she went back inside, she would soon find that Creagon had somehow disappeared with everyone else.
It was too late to go back into the bedroom, anyway. It was obvious that Creagon had seen her. He was even waving! The utter audacity of the exhibitionist!
"Creagon, I seem to be locked in my room!" Melissa called, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to see her own brother performing such a lurid display every morning of her life. No wonder the bastard had taken John's side. Melissa's brother, as it turned out, was probably just as bad – if not worse – than John was.
"Come on in; the water is fine," Creagon called back, now treading water.
Thank God his lewd cock was again out of sight!
"My… door… is… stuck!" Melissa shouted.
"Can't hear you, luv. You'll have to talk a bit louder," Creagon insisted.
"My…door… seems… to… be… stuck!" Melissa obliged, screaming loud enough, she was sure, to quite arouse the whole household.
"Wait a minute, and I'll come closer!" Creagon called, swimming toward the end of the pool.
What did he mean, he would come closer? Oh, good God, he was actually getting out of the water!
Melissa thought for sure she was going to faint. She certainly was blushing. And, there he was, walking across the flagstones, his body dripping wet, his cock weaving in front of his belly like a grotesquely lurid phallic metronome.
He was just trying to shock her! It was just the same kind of infantile trick John was always pulling!
"Now, then," Creagon said, looking up at his sister. He was standing right below the balcony. Melissa had a very good view of everything.
Melissa controlled an impulse to run. She controlled another impulse to make a scathing comment on Creagon's disgraceful display.
"My door seems to be stuck," Melissa said.
"It's not stuck, sister," Creagon said, and he smiled up at her like some Raphaelesque angel painted with an erection. "Your door is locked."
Of course, Melissa had known it was locked. But, that didn't keep her from being somewhat shocked by having the fact verified so calmly by her brother.
"What do you mean, it's locked?" Melissa asked, trying for composure.
"I don't know how I could make it any plainer," Creagon said, frowning as if the problem of clarity were actually perplexing him. Melissa knew better!
"Well, would you please send up one of the servants to un-lock it?"
"Actually, I gave all the servants the day off," Creagon said. "Telling them, of course, that they had to leave quietly so as not to disturb my dear sister who hasn't been sleeping at all well lately – or, so I've been told. They didn't disturb you as they were leaving, did they?"
"What do you mean, you gave them the day off? All of them?"
"We really do seem to be having a bit of a communication problem here, don't we?" Creagon said, again looking as if he were at a complete loss as to just why. "But, don't worry, I'll come on up and try to clarify things a bit more for you."
"First, explain right from where you are just why you gave the servants the day off without first consulting me?"
"I thought maybe they might misinterpret your screaming," Creagon said, flashing another smile. "You know, and I know how you like to play games; but, I was afraid the servants might actually think I was hurting you."
Melissa must have looked confused; because, Creagon laughed with genuine amusement.
"Come on, now," Creagon continued. "Admit it. You are going to shout and cry and carry on, no end, aren't you?"
"Whatever are you talking about?" Melissa asked, feeling a chill in spite of the heat of the morning. And, she really wasn't all that sure she even wanted to know what her brother was talking about.
"Why, when I fuck you, luv," Creagon said. "Why, when I incestuously shove this blood-bloated cock of mine right up your juicy little cunt."
Melissa's mouth dropped open. Her eyes went wide. She… actually… thought… she… was… going… to… faint.
This was madness! This was utter… utter… madness!
"Hold on, sister dear," Creagon said, "I'll be right up; and, we can get started. It'll rather be like old times, won't it?"
"Creagon!" Melissa screamed. But, her brother had disappeared through the French doors and disappeared into the house.
It wasn't true! It couldn't be true! It simply couldn't be true!
Melissa got a cramp in her stomach. She actually thought she was going to be physically sick.