Chapter 17: Hand Gripping

Nancy gripped Holmes' hand tight as they waited in the corridor; she wasn't looking forward to this. Finally they were called into the room, a withered old man stood to one side of the covered body, as Holmes and Nancy stood on the other side, he peeled the sheet away from the body slowly and Nancy gasped at the sight before her. Holmes squeezed her hand instinctively, as she let the sight wash over her, it was the man who had let her escape, the man with the burnt face who was a slave to an even more malicious man. The man was covered in bruises and deep cuts, his throat had been cut, his skin was pale and waxy from being in the water, he stank of putrid water but there was no denying it was him.

' Is it him Nancy?' Holmes' tone was gentle and quiet, Nancy nodded and ran out of the room, her hand clamped over her mouth, Holmes followed as the man covered the body back up, Holmes took Nancy's hand and pulled her along the corridor out into the street. He led her along streets and alleyways, Nancy wasn't paying attention as they walked, the face of the strange man ran through her head constantly on a loop, alive one moment and dead the next, what haunted her most was his eyes, they were exactly the same in life as they were in death, dead, empty and yet full of torment and pain. Nancy noticed that Holmes was now walking her up a flight of stairs and into a small dark room,

' Where are we?'

' Small room I rent' Nancy looked out of the door and down the stairs and recognised the room below, though last time she had been here, it had been full of men drinking and shouting as Holmes bare knuckle boxed William.

' Nancy, its time we talked' Nancy took a deep breath and nodded, they sat down together on the floor and Nancy proceeded to tell Holmes everything the man had told her, he sat patiently and listened as she told her story, he didn't doubt what the man had told her at all. They sat in silence as she finished, they'd begun to hear voices filling the room downstairs as the men got ready to drink and place their bets on the nights fight, Nancy looked at Holmes, he was angry, she could tell, he was seething with silent rage, he got to his feet;

' Stay here Nancy I'll be back soon'

' Where are you going?'

' Downstairs for a minute, I need to clear my head' with that he was gone the door closing and locking behind him, Nancy sat on the floor, she could feel the heat from downstairs radiating up through the floor boards, she removed her coat and lay down on it, the heat intensified and she unbuttoned her dress and pulled it weakly from her body, she then unlaced her corset and removed her stockings and lay down in her white chemise, the intense heat from all the bodies in the room below made her tired and she felt her eyes close and darkness engulf her.

Nancy was awoken by shouting and cheering from downstairs, she sat up as she heard the door unlock, Holmes walked in, his body was drenched in sweat and blood was trickling down his chin from the corner of his mouth, his hair was dishevelled and he was breathless from the fight. The shouting erupted once more downstairs as a new fight kicked off, Holmes took in the sight of Nancy before him, he felt his stomach muscles tighten, he sat down before her and took a swig from a bottle of whiskey, she crawled and knelt in front of him, she dabbed at his lip with a handkerchief and ran her hand down his face, he closed his eyes relishing her touch, she moved closer straddling him and gently kissed the corner of his lip that had been bleeding,

' I'm sorry' he opened his eyes at her words,

' What are you sorry for, you haven't done anything I should know about while I've been down there have you?' he was smiling wickedly,

' I thought you were angry with me, I thought that's why you went down stairs'

' No, Nancy you didn't make me angry, I'm angry because you should have never been through that, I promised to keep you safe and I failed'

' No you didn't, you could never have known that was going to happen'

' I should have stayed with you'

' Lets not dwell on the past' Nancy kissed him passionately and he returned the kiss, holding her tightly to his body, Nancy stood up and walked to the window, pulling the curtains closed, he watched her as she stood before the candle on the table the light silhouetted her body against the chemise and he saw every curve of her body, he stood up, his body pushing hers against the table, he lifted her so she sat on the edge and she wrapped her legs around his waist, they gave into one another, enjoying being able to let go and finally make noise, the shouting from downstairs drowning them out, they moved to the floor, Nancy straddled Holmes, he moaned loudly as her warmth enveloped him, he held onto her hips as they thrust together, Holmes watched Nancy rock on top of him her breasts bouncing gently when he pulled her hips towards him to let him get deeper, they moved again Holmes was on top of her pounding violently, his need for her taking over, she gripped his back tightly moaning and gasping at the intensity, his flesh slamming against hers, his breath hot on her neck, Nancy forced him onto his back and straddled him again, she arched her back as was getting closer, he groped her breasts and she lent over him letting her nipples brush against his lips, he closed him lips around her nipple and bit and sucked relentlessly until she gasped and arched her back again thrusting harder against him, he yanked her hips harder as they both quickened their pace, Nancy's head shot back as she let out a loud moan of pleasure as Holmes joined her. They lay together on the floor panting and sweating, as the shouting downstairs continued, their bodies intertwining as exhaustion caught up with them.