Читать книгу Screaming Yellow - Rachel Green - Страница 6

Chapter 1

Susan Pargeter winced as a fourteen-gauge needle sank into her skin then again when it poked out an inch farther along. It was a shallow wound–she could see the ridge of metal under the flesh, the last in a long line of parallel needles down the top of both breasts from her collarbones to her areolas.

“Keep still.”

Robert’s voice was commanding, a tone expecting absolute compliance. His fingers slipped another sterile needle through, perfectly parallel with the rest. “There.” He dropped the plastic cap into a yellow sharps bin. “A pretty ladder for an angel to climb.”

He ran his finger down each set of ridges in turn, causing Susan’s heart to flutter. Her pelvis flooded with warmth.

The overhead lights went out as Robert set up his digital camera. Her blissful expression would not appear in any photograph, just the needles taken from the perspective of a surreal landscape. She would have the honor of appearing, albeit anonymously, in his latest collection of fetish photography.

Lights flashed as he took several photographs from different camera positions, changing the direction of the floods when he felt a new angle warranted it. His voice softened as he stroked her cheek. “Do you need water?”

When she shook her head, he straightened an arm, cleaning it with an alcohol wipe. He inserted a sterile hypodermic, finding the vein with the assuredness of many years of practice and drew out a few fluid ounces of blood.

“The ancients thought this was the life essence.” He removed the syringe and pressed a wad of cotton wool onto the spot, securing it with a plaster and tucking it out of sight of the camera lens. “Many still do. God forbade His creation to drink of it lest they become as demons.” He set his cameras on automatic shutter and poured the blood over her breasts, the splashing accompanied by the twelve frames per second shutter clicks.

As both cameras beeped to indicate full memory cards, Robert threw a towel over Susan’s stomach to catch the drips. “All done. I’m proud of you. You took it without a murmur. Not even a single call of ‘yellow.’”

She smiled, watching him withdraw each needle and drop it into the sharps bin. “It might have spoiled your design if I’d asked you to stop. Besides, it was very relaxing.”

“Good.” Robert smiled and leaned forward to brush her lips with his own. “Come to my room later.”

“I will. Thank you, sir.” Susan stood and held out her arms as Robert drew a silk dressing gown over her naked body. The marks where the needles had been were a series of raised scarlet ridges that would be gone by morning. Beads of blood from the deeper needles were already scabbing over.

She raised his hand to her lips and kissed it. “Thank you.”

Robert smiled. “Away with you.” He gave her bottom a gentle pat. “I have work to do. I’ve got to download all those pretty pictures I’ve just taken and work on them.”

Susan nodded and turned, skimming up a five-pack of the sterile needles and slipping them into the deep pocket of her robe.

The door closed softly behind her.