Strictly Prohibited Ch. 04

I AM SORRY! I KNOW I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN FOREVER! Thank you to everyone who favourited, rated and commented this story. As I have said before and will say again - it is what gives me the motivation to write more!! Sorry again that this update has taken so long, but this installment is longer, as promised, and includes a bit more character development! Stick with me I promise it will be worth it!

Enjoy

***

Warmth. Fleetingly sweeping over her skin. Her arm, her stomach, her cheek - she found her hand trailing after each mark of heat hopelessly trying to contain it. Whimpering, she angled herself in a desperate attempt to feel again the caress of the sun that should not exist in the middle of the night.

Then a single whisper had sent hot air fanning a fire along her neckline, before all trace of the warmth's mysterious source vanished.

"Soon."

***

Effie awoke with her hand on her neck, unsure of why it tingled with the most pleasant form of anticipation. She rolled lazily to see the dent in the hay where Ness' form had resided the previous night. After the first evening, she thought he would not stay again. But three more sundowns had occurred since then and still the agent insisted on remaining with her. A smile played the puppet-master and pulled her lips into that telling curve.

Becoming conscious of the unwilled action, she shook her head and sent her brunette locks into a frenzied swing around her. She placed her hands over her face and screamed into them in a girlish fashion. I can't be falling for him.

Effie took a few deep breaths and composed herself, but put her hands down only to see a Ness laying a blouse and skirt on the chair before her. Without wanting to give another thought to the her confused feelings, she hastened to get off the bed and let the familiar routine of changing distract her from the coil of pleasure building within her chest.

"They've also got breakfast in the mess hall, but you really don't need to eat with those men again. I can always bring it here for you," Ness began to do that annoying this of his of late where he would over-accommodate for her.

"These aren't my quarters," Effie laughed as Ness turned to give her some small privacy whilst she put her clothes on.

"About that," Ness said, still facing the wall, "Do you need to contact anyone who you are staying with? Surely they must be worried that you haven't come home for some time now."

Effie awkwardly paused, before pulling her stockings up, "I'm sure no one misses me."

"You're presence is hardly undesirable," Ness offered, the flattery causing Effie's chest to blush a hot red until her doubt at his sincerity suppressed the feeling.

"Its, well, it isn't that," Effie spoke nervously as she adjusted her chiffon pleated skirt.

Ness turn now to face her as the clack of her heels signaled that her ensemble was complete for the day, "You surely can't mean that you live alone in the city, a girl like you..." A woman, really. An attractive as hell beauty of a woman.

"Well actually," Effie said placing some rogue on her lips skillfully, "I don't even live in the city."

Ness chuckled, admiring her foolish eyes as he playfully entertained her unbelievable statement, "Oh really now?"

"Yes, as soon as my train got in I came straight to the office..."

"Wait, you seriously don't have a place to live?" Ness paced the floor towards her, realising she really was the fool those doe eyes made her out to be.

Effie couldn't help but feel exhilarated as he closed the space between them with his long and commanding strides, "I know of a cousin in the city..."

"A cousin!" Ness exclaimed, incredulous at the doll's spontaneity.

"More of a friend of a friend really," Effie mumbled as he was standing over her, his presence intoxicating.

Ness' eyes searched for any sign of sense or self-preservation or basic instinct in her ever-widening gems that completely captivated him every time he got a glimpse of them. She was too powerful for her own good.

"You shall stay with me then," he said, still standing just inches away from her.

"Surely it's improper for a single woman like myself," Effie protested, only causing Ness to reel in disbelief!

"Oh, so now propriety is a problem for you!"

"Well, no, but I had to point it out..."

"And what we have been doing the past few nights has been 'in decorum' has it now?" Ness said, bringing his hands up to cup her face.

"Sleeping next to you has been only of necessity," Effie remarked, blindly defending her innocence.

Ness squinted his eyes for a second as he remembered that only he had been privy to the subtle groping and torture that her body had inflicted on him night after night as he was compelled by a hidden duty to keep her safe and an untold desire to have her pressed up against him. She really was innocent despite their actions, well his mostly.

"And it is of necessity that I am telling you that you should stay at my place from now on, no objections," Ness concluded, removing his hands from her and turning to exit the room.

Effie watched him walk away and considered if his last words were an offer or a demand. She noted absentmindedly that his hands had been cool to the touch.

***

"I knew you were hiding something from me, but this - Christ! This is huge!" Detective Morgan adjusted his specks in disbelief as he stood behind his desk, reading over the contents of the Wolf's invitation.

Ness fumbled and combed his fingers through his hair nervously, still unsure if he had made the right decision by showing the document to the detective. Looking at the sweltering, round man in front of him, it was easy to miss the qualities underneath that Ness felt indebted to him for. His exterior reflected nothing of the brave, loyal man Ness knew him to be. The agent ruffled his hair again, trying to remember a time when Detective Morgan had flaming locks covering his scalp or a shirt that fit handsomely over his torso. The detective had been balding and putting on weight, well ironically, since he took Ness under his wing just over two years ago. Ness chuckled to himself at this - maybe he was the reason that this once respectable specimen of a man had let himself go. He had been a handful back then. Hell, he would be on the streets right now if Detective Morgan hadn't saved his career.

Yes, if there was anyone he could trust with showing the invitation, it was him.

"So she just had the note on her?" Detective Morgan was still fussing over the details of the night, recording them meticulously in his personal notebook.

That was the other thing. If there was one man in the world who was as dedicated to capturing the Wolf as Ness was, it was him. Ness knew that the detective's fascination with the notorious criminal, though not personally motivated like his own, stretched for almost double the time he had been involved.

"I found her at my desk, asleep, the letter in front of her..."

"Positioned how?"

"Detective, I really don't remember and I don't think it is important," Ness smiled at his pedantic nature.

"All details are important," the detective laughed at the impatient youth and continued to rustle through some papers, "And she doesn't remember any of it?"

"She still hasn't recalled any more details, no," Ness confirmed, the fact still bothering him.

The detective scanned the invitation once again before removing his glasses, "What is most striking though is that he calls her by her real name."

Ness froze at this. Even though he shared his knowledge of the invitation, could he also tell the detective about Effie's suspicions over who the Wolf was? To do so would be to reveal a connection that would have Effie inevitably involved in the investigation from this point out, if she already wasn't already in too deep. He pictured her vulnerable form sleeping in the sheets, the daintiness of her frame and how easily he could wrap his arms around her. How easy it would be for him to break her.

Why had she got herself involved in all of this? Why did she have to be the key to reaching one of the most dangerous men in the country? Ness' nostrils started to flare at the thought of the Wolf having Effie with him, the things he could have done to her...

"Did Effie mention any reason as to why the Wolf would call her by name?" Detective Morgan asked, taking a seat in his chair.

No. Ness would protect her. And that meant being able to remove her from the case if it became too dangerous. It would be too difficult to do that if the detective realised she could be the piece he had been waiting for.

"She had consumed a lot of the giggle water, I suspect she may have used her real name with any one she encountered later that night and not have known it," Ness told a half-truth.

"Hmph," the detective grunted as he looked Ness up and down, "You look like shit. Have you been getting night terrors again?"

Something like that Ness thought as he took a seat in the chair opposite his boss, "No, it's just been a... difficult couple of nights."

Ness crumpled his brow and put two fingers to his forehead as he felt the pain that a lack of sleep left behind his eyes. The detective's mention of it had made him acknowledge just how drained he felt. He wasn't of any use to any one in this state.

"Holy crap!" Detective Morgan burst out unexpectedly.

"What?" Ness said taking his hand off his head, his eyes glaring in disturbance at the detective.

"Please tell me you have not been staying here with her..."

"What are you talking about," Ness tried to cut him off, not wanting to get into it. But he knew it wasn't going to be that easy.

Detective Morgan shook his head in disapproval, "You've been sleeping in the on-call room with the doll! I should have known that her show as a whore was a little too practiced..."

"DON'T YOU EVER," Ness stood up, slamming his fist on the desk and causing the detective to lean back in surprise at the intense reaction.

"Ah kid," the detective softened recognising the look in Ness' eyes, "You always got worked up when I called Alice such as well, but you have to realise that is what they are."

"She is nothing like Alice," Ness snapped back, his already dark eyes turning onyx with rage.

"These working girls are trouble, maybe your first instinct was right and she is employed by the Wolf."

"NO."

"Ness, no respectable woman..."

"I haven't touched her!" Ness winced, wishing there was more truth to his words, "I stayed next to her each night because she was scared about the invitation. I promise she is as pure as snow and as innocent as she claims to be."

Even as Ness defended her he couldn't be sure of his words. It was she who had asked him into her bed. No, insisted. Sure, she had never made a move on him but could it have all been a part of her plan to entrap him? Entrap him to what end? He had never really thought to how she never woke up at his guilty ministrations. The first night she was drugged, of course, but after that? Had she known he had been touching her and had she let it happen?

"You haven't fucked her?" Detective Morgan stared him right in the eyes.

"No," Ness let out the breath he didn't realise he was holding as he was able to answer that question with the confidence that he was not deceiving his most trusted comrade.

The detective kept his gaze on the agent, but turned to search through some drawers once he was convinced there was truth to his words, "I want her out of here by tonight."

"She'll find other lodgings, I promise," Ness relaxed a little in the chair.

"And those lodgings won't be your house, I hope?" the detective gave him a warning.

"She has a cousin in the city," Ness stated plainly, wanting this conversation to be over.

"Okay, now go fetch her. It's about time she earned her worth around here," Detective Morgan ordered, still showing he held the senior position for a reason.

"Of course," Ness complied.

Detective Morgan sat back in his chair, exacerbated by their quarrelsome encounter. He had always thought of Ness like a son, even though he was more close in age to posing as an older brother. But he had always felt responsible for Ness, especially considering that he and his wife were never able to have children of their own. Being on rocky terms with the lad consequently left him more sweaty and uncomfortable than usual.

But it was not the confrontation that bothered him so. Ness and he had disagreements all the time. What had him blotting his forehead with a handkerchief was that the situation was looking a little too familiar to the one he found Ness in as a new dry agent all those years ago.

***

He was about to enter the questioning room when he saw her lips wrapped around the agent's cock with the skill of the whore of Babylon herself. Her small but perky breasts bounced free of their material holdings as she impaled her mouth on his dick. One hand formed a tight o around the thick base whilst the other reached under and roamed in unspeakable places of desire for a man. As she sucked back up the entirety of the cock, he couldn't help but admire the agent's length that he was not fortunate enough to be gifted with.

With a pop the pulsing erection slipped out of her cherry-red lips as she licked the throbbing vein on the underside of the hard organ. The move required less concentration, which caused her to scan the room as she trailed her tongue up and flicked it all over the glistening tip. She spotted the voyeur in the doorway, and he jumped in embarrassment as her lust-filled eyes sent a wink his way.

A commanding hand had taken hold of her strawberry blonde mane and guided her back to her task of milking the rigid dick before her. She continued to bob her head with more speed now, moaning with the knowledge that she was putting on a show. And the worst part was that she now chose to stare at him whilst she pleasured another man's cock.

"Ahem," the detective had coughed, ashamed that he had taken so long to interrupt the scene before him.

The young Ness had quickly jumped back from the girl and began fumbling with his breeches whilst she remained in her bare form, wiping her mouth with a devilish grin.

Ness had started, "Detective Morgan, I, uh, I was just..."

"Screwing with my evidence?" the detective had countered quickly, "Now get yourself decent unless you want me to assign some one else to the case."

"No sir, I mean, yes, I, um, I'll be back in one moment," the novice agent had practically run out of the room.

The detective had looked at the whore who he had taken in from their latest raid. In all his time on the force, he had never met someone with as much dishonor as this girl. It was people like her that were turning the world to shit.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself before we begin?" he had asked her.

She had arched her back and shrugged, "What can I say," she purred, "I like him."

***

Detective Morgan broke from his reverie as Ness entered the room with Effie. She looked even better than he remembered, the detective having taken little notice of her since he took her in on her first day. He gestured for them both to have a seat. God, I just hope you really are different.

"Detective, how can I be of assistance?" she asked with the sweetest and most demure of speech.

"Are you a religious woman?" he returned, ignoring her feminine wiles.

Effie looked to Ness nervously, unsure of how to respond to the detective's strange question. Ness was just as blind-sighted by the subject though and could only offer her an encouraging raise of the eyebrows at the unusual request.

"I, um," Effie said turning to face the detective, "I was born a Catholic."

"How charming," Detective Morgan seemed a picture of impatience yet tolerable stoicism that only further confused the girl, "So you go to church on Sundays?"

"Other commitments of mine often meant that I could not make mass regularly, but I believe His Lord is with me always," Effie answered, hoping her answer wasn't disagreeable.

"It's settled then," Detective Morgan announced, standing up and dialing some numbers on his phone.

"What's settled?" Ness rose with him, antsy at the weirdness of the detective's behavior.

Detective Morgan held the phone to his ear as it rang through, "Why, it's settled that since Effie has no religious observances to oversee this Sunday, then she shall attend the Regatta."

Ness' eyes flashed their black depths once again as his need to protect her took over. He was about to spring on Detective Morgan when he looked over and saw Effie's face and it was... beaming! Beaming with - excitement?

"Hello, yes is Captain Firth there? Marvelous, tell him it's Morgan!" the detective spoke into the phone as he waved his hand at Effie and Ness, signaling his dismissal from the room.

"But -"

"Captain? Yes, I know it has been a while! How are the kids?"

"Detective I really don't think-"

But Detective Morgan just put up a hand towards Ness indicating he should stop, "That's great to hear. Look, I was hoping I could call an old favour in and secure some tickets for the Regatta this weekend."

Ness grabbed Effie's hand, who looked at him in shock at the harsh action, "Come on."

"Yes I know its late notice... ha! You old sport!" Detective Morgan's voice trailed off in the background as Ness pulled Effie out of the room.

"What was that?" she spun, ripping her arm out of his tight grip.

"You aren't going." Ness ordered as he went to take her hand again, but she shrunk back from his touch.

"That's not your call to make."

"I cannot allow you to place yourself in such a dangerous situation," Ness commanded, refraining from placing his hands on her a third time. He knew she couldn't go anywhere but that inexplicable need to be touching some part of her had returned again.

"You cannot allow me!" Effie laughed incredulously.

Ness looked around and saw other agents starting to notice their queer behaviour, "We shall discuss this later-"

"Oh no we won't," Effie cut in, provocation in her eyes.

"We will have to if you want somewhere to sleep tonight," Ness met her challenge, instantly regretting it as she turned and walked away before he could read her expression.

***

The walk home was a quiet one, with Effie avoiding eye contact. Ness didn't realise how frustrated he was until he heard Effie's breath hitch with the effort of matching the fast pace he had set. He began to slow, but realised they had already reached his terrace.

"After you," he said opening the front door, frustrated that this was not going how he imagined it in his head.

But what did you expect Ness? How else were you going to take her home?

"You can take the bed," Ness explained after giving her a quick tour of his modest lodgings.

"And where will you sleep?" she asked, her tone short as she refused to make eye contact with him.

Ness sighed, "I'll be fine. Now would you like some tea or something?"

Ness moved around the kitchen, locating his good tea set and preparing to put the kettle on when he became unnerved by Effie's silence. He turned to find her staring at him.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing-" Ness began but he became distracted when he noticed Effie had undone a few buttons on her blouse to reveal a generous amount of cleavage. She didn't seem to notice, casually slipping off her shoes in her usual routine to get comfortable.

"Yes? Why are you being so kind to me?" Effie prompted as she unpinned her hair, letting it flow down over her slender neck.

Ness tried to compose himself and divert his eyes elsewhere, but the effect had already taken place and his words came out as jumbled as his thoughts, "I'm, well as a person in such a position, I feel - no, I am! I am responsible, yes that's it. I am responsible for you."