“Flower,” he murmured, taking my chin in his hand, his fingers grazing my throat, “if you think I could let you go, then you seriously underestimate the kind of man I am.”
His words made me crumble. I was gone. A mess. And when he brought his mouth to mine for an intense kiss full of unspoken words and promises, I almost lost the ability to hold myself upright. Jack’s tongue slid inside my mouth and he let out a feral growl, backing me up into the wall almost painfully. His mouth captured mine, possessed every inch of my insides, causing tingles to radiate down my spine. I moaned and he swallowed it, gripping my neck in his tight grasp and pressing his hardness into my belly.
“I can’t be gentle tonight, Lille,” he said, his voice a carnal warning, and I whimpered.
“I don’t want you to be.”
“You need to be punished.”
“Punish me, then.”
Before I could think another thought, his hand was under the hem of my dress, smoothing up my thigh and seeking refuge inside my underwear. His long fingers opened me quickly, rubbing down my slit, finding my entrance, and plunging in without preamble. I gasped at how perfectly he filled me. There were people only feet away from us, but no street lights shone on our unlit corner. We were shrouded in the privacy of darkness.
I yelped in surprise when Jack’s mouth came down on my neck, his sharp teeth grazing my skin before biting down hard. My entire body shook against him, my breaths coming out choppy and laboured.
“Jack,” I breathed.
“I told you I couldn’t be gentle, flower,” he ground out, fingers pumping while his thumb found my clit. The pressure was delicious, perfect, and I knew it wasn’t going to be long before I came.
“I want…to…ask you a question.”
His tongue licked at the shell of my ear. “Then ask.”
“Why do you call me flower?”
I didn’t have to look to know he was smiling that glorious smile, the one that lit up his face from the inside out.
“Because when I touch you, you fucking bloom,” he answered, and it was right on his final word that I came with a startling intensity. His fingers left me and rubbed along my folds. “I’ll never get tired of the way you feel. This is mine,” he grunted into my ear, but I had no answering words. All I could do was nod. When I finally found my voice, I let out a breathy, “Yours,” and it felt like his entire body vibrated with approval. Just as he was setting my dress back to rights and I was nibbling at his neck, my face pressed into his hot skin, the door to the club opened, and someone stepped out.
A moment later I heard Jay call, “Jack, Lille, are you two out here?”
It only took a moment for him to spot us. I was still coming down from my orgasm, my body trembling against Jack’s as he held me in his arms. My hands were fisted in his shirt.
“There you are,” said Jay, a knowing lilt to his voice. I glanced at him for a moment to see him smirking to high heavens. Jack shook his head at his brother’s cheery demeanour and said, “We’ll be in in a minute.”
Jay raised his hands in the air. “Hey, no rush. Matilda’s in the bathroom, powdering her nose or whatever shit women do in bathrooms. She’s been gone a while, so I was wondering if Lille could go check on her, but I see she’s otherwise indisposed at the moment.” I bristled with embarrassment, self-conscious that Jay could see the “I just came” flush to my cheeks. I drew in a deep breath and ran my hands down my dress.
“It’s okay. I can go find her,” I said, and slid out of the cage of Jack’s body. I tried to put one foot in front of the other, which was difficult given my current state, but I just about managed to reach the door. Jay held it open, Jack heavy on my heels, and I stepped back inside to the throbbing beat of the music. Just before heading to the bathroom, I turned around to see Jay reach out and ruffle Jack’s hair, like he was congratulating him. Jack half scowled, half grinned at his brother and gave him a little shove. It made my heart squeeze so see them acting like such siblings, and I hurried on to find Matilda. When I reached the bathroom, she was standing by the sinks, washing her hands.
“Lille,” she said when she saw me. “Oh, you look like a woman who just got what she wanted. I take it you and Jack are back on track, then?”
I looked away sheepishly before replying, “Yeah, I think we are. I really should thank you for inviting me to dinner. I’ll be honest, when I first realised it was a setup, I kind of wanted to strangle you for a second, but I know now that your heart was in the right place.”
She seemed taken aback by my words and gave me a shy smile. “You’re welcome. I’m happy to help.”
A moment of quiet elapsed while Matilda reached inside her purse and retrieved some money to give to the bathroom attendant. I stood there, suddenly overcome with the need to embrace her. She must have noticed, because when she looked at me, she asked, “What?”
“This is going to sound weird, but can I give you a hug?”
She laughed. “Of course you can.”
I went to her, wrapping my arms around her small frame. I guessed that after all we’d been through reuniting Jack and Jay, I felt a sense of kinship towards her.
“I suppose we’re sort of sisters-in-law now,” she said warmly.
“Well, if Jack and I ever marry, it won’t be for a long time, but yeah, I suppose you could call us that.”
Matilda grinned as she pulled away. “Hmm, I don’t think you need a ring on your finger with Jack. The way he looks at you says it all. You’re it for him.”
“It’s a little early to say that,” I hastened, but she cut me off. The shine in her eyes told me she was tipsy, which explained the soppy sentiment that came out of her next.
“Oh, Lille, there’s never too early when true love is involved.”
Her words made me grin, because she’d definitely had a few. I let her lead me back out into the club. We didn’t immediately find the brothers, but a song came on that Matilda liked, so I let her lead me onto the dance floor. We danced for a minute or two, the crush of the bodies surrounding us strangely liberating, when I felt familiar arms come around my middle.
“I can still smell you on my hand,” Jack growled into my ear, his voice sending delicious spikes of awareness right to my core. Our bodies moved to the beat, and I looked to see Jay join Matilda, taking her into his arms and doing a cute little dancey hug.
“Wait ’til I get you home tonight — you’re gonna fucking ache in the morning.”
I twisted in his hold to face him, my breasts pushing into his hard chest as we continued to dance. I trembled, enjoying the friction between our bodies.
“I’m already aching for you,” I said, going up on my tiptoes to shout into his ear.
His lips tipped up at the edges as he swept my hair over my shoulder and gripped the back of my neck. “What do you want me to do to you, flower?”
The loudness of the club, the heat, the sweat, and Jack’s potent masculinity all combined to make me brave, more open with my desires. “I want your tongue between my legs,” I said, and I felt rather than heard the rumble emanate from Jack’s chest. “I want you to make love to me so hard I end up sore.”
His other arm squeezed tighter around my waist, and when I met his eyes, they practically blazed with his desire for me. I could feel him hardening again, and it gave me a little thrill to know my words had done that to him, to know there were hundreds of people surrounding us. Jack used his grip on my neck to tilt my head back, and before I knew it, he was sinking his tongue deep inside my mouth, moving it in slow delicious thrusts that made me envision his cock inside me.
By the time we came up for air, the DJ was playing a completely different song, and Jay was tapping Jack on the shoulder.
“I think it’s time we get out of there,” he shouted as we followed him to the bar, where it was quieter. Jack held my hand in his. “How about we head out to the circus? I want to meet the people you live with.”
Jack nodded, and a couple of minutes later we
were huddled in a taxi. Jay sat in the front and began doing a card trick for the driver. Matilda scolded him for distracting the man, saying we’d all end up in a crash. I watched in fascination, the side of my body moulded to Jack’s as Jay shuffled a deck of cards in a way I’d never seen before. At least not in real life.
It looked like the show had just ended when we arrived at the circus, because there were dozens of cars blocking the road as the audience left the tent and headed back into the city. We got out, the cool night air kissing my skin. Jack led the way to the gazebo, where most everyone would be hanging out after the show. I thought he seemed a little excited to introduce Jay as his brother. Before we got there, though, we stopped in our tracks as a terrified scream rang out somewhere close by.
“What was that?” Matilda asked, moving closer to her husband, a wary look on her face.
“It sounded like a scream,” I said, skin prickling. This was eerily similar to the night Lola was attacked, and when I met Jack’s gaze, I knew he was thinking the exact same thing. Before any of us could say another word, we heard footsteps pounding hurriedly toward us, and I jumped in fright when Julie emerged around the side of a camper. She was wearing a silk robe that was torn at the shoulder, her stage outfit on underneath, and blood was trickling down from a cut on her eyebrow. Her eyes were wide and full of terror
It struck me as odd that my initial reaction was to go to her, help her, even after all she’d done to me. I let go of Jack’s hand and stopped her by placing my hands on her shoulders.
“Julie, what happened?” I asked, frantic.
Her chest heaved in panic, but as she took us all in, she seemed to find her voice. “He came after me. He hurt me,” she sobbed before breaking down into tears.
Jack stood in front of Julie and spoke firmly. “Listen to me, you need to tell us what happened.”
“A man in a mask broke into my camper. He…he attacked me, tried to rape me, but I punched him and managed to get away.”
Jay let out a low whistle, and I looked at him to see he had one eyebrow raised as he took in Julie’s state of distress. He was staring at her very closely, but I couldn’t tell what on earth he must have been thinking.
“I’m calling the police,” said Matilda, her phone already out of her bag as she held it to her ear.
When I looked at Jack, it was almost as if we were having a silent conversation. We both knew what this meant. Julie’s attacker sounded all too similar to Lola’s, which had happened all the way back in Orléans. It was way too much of a coincidence. This was the same guy. And if it was the same guy, the chances were likely that this person was someone in the circus. We all helped lead Julie back to her camper, where, sure enough, the door was wide open and a few bits of furniture lay tossed aside from the scuffle.
A few minutes later her sisters arrived, full of concern, and I relayed to them what had happened. Matilda hung up the phone and told us that the police were on their way; we just had to wait for them to get there. Now that her sisters were with Julie, the rest of us weren’t really needed anymore, so we began walking in the direction of Jack’s camper. None of us were much in the mood for continuing with our night, though.
“So you’re telling me this happened before,” said Jay, now rolling a dice between his fingers as he walked beside us, Matilda on his left.
“Yes,” I answered. “My friend Lola was attacked back in Orléans. And a couple of years ago, a dancer with the circus was raped and killed. All evidence seems to be indicating that the culprit works here.”
“Hmm,” Jay murmured, and rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “Curiouser and curiouser.”
“What are you thinking?” Matilda asked, eyeing her husband with interest.
Instead of answering her, Jay stopped walking to stand in front of us. We all paused mid-stride, and Jay looked to Jack. “How many people live here? Forty? Fifty?”
Jack nodded. “About that, why?”
Jay waved aside his question to ask another of his own. “Do you think you could gather them all in the tent tomorrow, say around lunchtime?”
“I could try.”
“It has to be everyone. And I mean, everyone — well, except for the kids,” Jay went on, a wicked gleam in his eye and an expression that told me he was forming some kind of plan.
“Oh, God, what are you up to now? This better not be anything dodgy,” said Matilda warily before addressing Jack and me. “He’s always coming up with hare-brained schemes. He uses all his mentalist voodoo to trick people.”
Jay tugged on her wrist and pulled her into him, staring down at her fondly. “Ah, dear Watson, I’m not trying to trick anyone this time.” He paused for dramatic effect, eyeing each of us in turn. “I’m going to catch us a killer.”
Nineteen
But the magician, alas, solved the riddle
As it happened, once Jack and I were finally alone in his camper, he wasn’t rough with me at all. In fact, he was surprisingly tender. He poured hot wax on my skin, titillated me with hot matches and metal toys. He traced his hands over every inch of me and brought me to the cusp of euphoria before plunging me into the pleasurable depths of several mind-blowing orgasms.
The following morning we woke early, and after we ate breakfast, Jack went to find Marina to try to organise the meeting in the tent for Jay. I still had no idea what he was planning, but he had a reassuring sort of confidence that made me believe whatever he was going to try would work. It was a relief to think that in just a few hours we might have our culprit, and things around the circus could be safe once and for all.
I was on my way to the gazebo when I saw Bea wandering between the campers, wheeling along a battered old buggy with a baby doll inside. She looked tired, her hair was dirty, and it seemed like she hadn’t changed her clothes in a while. She hadn’t struck me as the best cared-for child, but I’d never seen her look this bad.
I was just about to approach and ask her how she was when her dad came marching out of their camper van, grabbed her roughly by the arm, and dragged her inside. It startled me, because Aiden had always struck me as a kind, though slightly laissez faire parent. He must have sensed me watching him, because our eyes met and his were hard.
“She’s been misbehaving,” he ground out in explanation, then went inside the camper, slamming the door shut behind him. I didn’t feel right after witnessing that, but I knew it must be hard being a single dad, so I couldn’t exactly judge. Still, he needed to take better care of Bea, at least make sure she was washed and had clean clothes. It made my heart hurt to think of her in her current state.
In an effort to lighten my mood, I went and had lunch with Lola and Luan in the gazebo. The two of them seemed to be slowly moving towards coupledom, which was nice to see. The entire circus was rife with talk of the meeting that was to take place after lunch, and once Lola, Luan, and I had finished eating, we all walked together to the Spiegeltent.
Inside people sat in various locations around the audience, chatting in earnest and speculating as to what was going on. I noticed King sitting in a corner on the floor, passed out and looking as dishevelled as always. It upset me a little. Somewhere deep down I thought maybe the painting would make him better somehow. Perhaps he was right after all, perhaps he was too far gone.
When I spotted Jack in the front row next to Matilda, my heart did a little leap. I got excited just at the sight of him and made my way towards the front.
“Hey,” he greeted me, low and husky. I smiled at him, then gave Matilda a little wave, but before I could take the seat next to him, he pulled me down to sit on his lap. The action gave me tingles, and his gaze fixed on my bare collarbone, where there were some small red marks from the wax he’d dripped on me last night. His attention scorched far more than the wax, and I found myself trembling a little at the memory.
Then his thumb brushed over the markings, causing me to let out a tiny gasp. His chest rumbled with a muted growl, and I could tell Matilda was watching us, but she di
dn’t say anything. I leaned up and had just enough time to lay a peck on Jack’s lips before a hush fell over the gathering. Footsteps echoed around the tent as Jay stepped out onto the stage, all eyes focusing on him.
“Greetings,” he said, scanning the space and flashing a big smile. He looked excited and full of energy. Electric. I wondered if this was what he was like during his performances and imagined watching him do a show would be quite the thrill ride. “Before I begin, could I ask you all to come and sit at the front in a circle? There should be enough room in the first two rows for everyone.”
Slowly, those gathered began to come forward, and, just like Jay had requested, it seemed like everyone in the entire circus was present. I saw Marina carrying Pierre. I saw Winnie hand in hand with her husband Antonio. I saw Julie and her sisters. Even Pedro was present. All except for the kids. After a minute or two, we were seated. I remained on Jack’s lap, staring at Jay as he continually moved his attention from one person to the next as though taking his time to study everyone individually. Then I saw him nodding as he began to count heads.
“Okay,” he said, and glanced at Marina. “If my math skills are correct, we’ve got forty-six people, am I right?”
“That’s correct,” Marina answered.
“Great.” He rubbed his hands together. “So, let’s get down to business. My name is Jay Fields, and I’m a stage illusionist. I’m proficient in a number of arts, one of which includes cold reading and mentalism. Solving mysteries is something of a hobby of mine. Just think of me as a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, or better yet, consider me your deus ex machina, here to solve the unsolvable. At the very least, I’ll endeavour to put a criminal behind bars. As you’ve all probably heard by now, there have been two separate incidents of violence and attempted rape against women in this circus in the past several weeks, as well as a murder two years ago. All evidence seems to suggest the crimes were carried out by the same person. The evidence also suggests that that person is in the room with us today.”