THORNE: Rose's Dark Contract

by R. B. O'Brien

“Oh. William. Please! ”

  “Please what? Say it. Tell me exactly what you want. That only I can give you. Say it.”

  She began those whimpers I loved. “Please. Make me come. Please.” Her screams ended on a whisper.

  “That’s right. I control you. Your orgasms. Your pain. Your pleasure. Me. I control it. Don’t ever forget it. You are mine.”

  “Yes,” she panted.

  “And right now I want to give us both pleasure. Come with me, my sweet girl. Come, now.”

  “Yes!” she screamed, her orgasm exploding over her, causing me to explode deep within her walls as she contracted around my stiff cock.

  “Jesus, Victoria. You’re little cunt is so hot, so tight. Fuck! ” And my hot cum seemed to endlessly drain into her.

  When I came down from my orgasm, she sobbed into my arms. Fuck.

  “Sssh. No. No. No. Why are you crying?”

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. “It just felt so good. William, I…”

  I feared what she might say, so I covered her lips with mine, tasting her salty tears, and drew her closer into me. “Sssh. No more tears. Sleep now. I am right here. I’m not going anywhere. Stay in my arms.”

  And before I could stop her, she said what I feared. “I think I’m falling in love with you, William.”

  “Victoria,” I scolded. “That’s enough. To sleep. Not another word.”

  And to my surprise, that’s exactly what she did. She fell into a contented sleep, burrowing into my chest that way she did. And I knew. I was fucked, because I may have been falling too.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Mark and Victoria finished on time and with great care to detail. I don’t how they did it but it was brilliant and cogent. Within a month’s time, we had negotiated with investors to turn the Pierce building into a studio that housed arts for children and adults. I felt like my life was on track for the first time in my thirty three years of living.

  Victoria never mentioned the “L” word again over the course of the month. We were busy. I still often teased her mercilessly at night, but we had been so focused on our work and getting the Pierce building settled, meeting with clients and lawyers, that we found ourselves out to dinner, coming home to make love, yes, even I was seeing the difference, and more and more, I let her sleep with me with the prerequisite that I wake to her beautiful lips on my erect cock each and every time she stayed in my bed. She did so dutifully. She knew the consequences should she fail.

  But that was just the thing. Victoria rarely failed me, unless I wanted her to. And much to my resistance, I was content to let her succeed. I didn’t know why exactly, and I stayed as occupied with work as I could, so that I didn’t have to think about it. I wasn’t about to let my guard down fully with her.

  It was coming to the end of the second month of her stay and our contract. I fought the feelings of worry that crept up as the days drew closer and closer to the end of our time together. I wouldn’t ask her to stay. It wouldn’t be fair to her. Mark let his other pianist go. Victoria was drawing huge crowds and she played every week now and even went to play after hours. If she weren’t leaving, I would have bought her her own piano. But there was no point. I would let her get settled into her new environment and then buy her a piano, the best, a Steinway, whatever she wanted, maybe find out where her grandfather’s piano had gone and get it back.

  Watching her play at Mark’s place made it quite clear to me where she belonged. She belonged in the music world. She needed an agent. She needed to play. Her entire being literally glowed when she played the piano. Watching her, hearing her, it was what she was born to do, to be. I wasn’t about to hold her back from that. Mark was already working on agents for her. He had connections in the music business. And he knew talent when he saw it. She would not have any problem signing the contract she was meant to sign, not like the dark contract I had forced her to sign with me.

  It was one Saturday night, and Mark had begged me to come with Olivia, Jennifer, and Samantha to watch Victoria play. Agents would be there and he wanted to ensure a full house. I didn’t know why he worried as much as he did. Victoria had garnered quite a following in just a few short weeks. Word spread fast as did the work she did to get the Performing Arts Center together. She was making a name for herself and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride in her, maybe even in myself a little bit. She had grown into a confident woman. Though still shy and submissive, she walked with a new-found courage and identity. She beamed. And I liked it.

  When the four of us walked into the restaurant and took our seats, I watched Victoria drinking from a glass of water, her pink lips wet from the droplets when she looked up to catch my glance. I tried to look away but her eyes bore into me. They never ceased to amaze me. I could read her so easily now. Her nerves. Her eyes had that begging look in them, that look that somehow softened me each and every time I saw it. I could feel Olivia’s eyes burning the back of my head as I reluctantly turned away from Victoria. I was with Olivia. Victoria was my personal assistant, I reminded myself, and in a few short weeks, she would be nothing to me.

  Still. Guilt nudged at me. Such a big night for her and I knew how jealous she was of Olivia. I hadn’t wanted to come. I certainly didn’t want to bring Olivia. But Mark had insisted and I really had no choice in the matter. It didn’t make sense for me not to go. There would be no logical reason for my absence.

  We sat at a reserved table right up front, and I pulled Olivia’s chair out from the table for her to sit. Jennifer and Samantha held nothing back, holding hands and giggling together, as if lesbians ruled the world. In this atmosphere, no one cared and I chuckled at their happiness.

  Christ. Who was I becoming? Happiness? Was it really attainable? I had never thought so. My mother certainly had made me believe that it wasn’t. What I had done. What Jennifer and I had both done when we were younger. As much as I buried what had happened that ill-fated day long ago at the age of fourteen, I could never fully let it go. On the rare occasion I did see my drunk of a mother, she made sure I didn’t forget.

  “Hey,” Olivia grabbed my hand. “You okay?”

  I looked over into her shimmering green eyes, a color unfathomable really, a color, though mesmerizing, held no depth the way Victoria’s did. Jesus. Fucking Christ. I needed to stop this nonsense.

  “Yeah. I’m okay. Why? Doesn’t it seem like I’m okay?” I realized I was snapping when I noticed her pupils widen and I tried to soften. “Been a pretty stressful month, Olivia. Will feel good to let off steam tonight.”

  “Perhaps a drink?” she inquired, tilting her head to the side slightly and planting a soft kiss on my lips.

  I looked down into her searching eyes and realized we hadn’t fucked in over a couple weeks. I kissed her back forcefully, trying to reclaim my old self within her lips. I found myself biting her lip hard and then pulled away. I felt depraved in that moment. But worse. I felt nothing. Nothing towards her.

  “Yeah,” I smiled. “A drink would be good.”

  She flagged over the waiter and ordered my scotch for me. She knew me well. I exhaled and tried to get comfortable.

  Jennifer looked over at me with a knowing glance and a nod, the short, brown hair atop her head not moving at all, as Victoria made her way up the stage.

  She shimmered. Quite literally. The dress was gold and simple but showcased her entire back, which had been adorned in a henna tattoo of rose-like vines just for the occasion. She simply couldn’t look any more beautiful. Her lips, painted in a light pink hue, matched her shoes that slipped out from under the spaghetti-strapped dress with a subtle peek. She sat down at the piano, her blonde hair to the side in a loose bun to further accentuate her long, lean back, and said nothing before her fingers landed on the keys. The lights dimmed and a hush fell over the audience that only said: Wow.

  Olivia took my drink from the waiter and waved it in front of my face, placed it down in front of me, and then I felt her fingers rubbing my crotch. I leaned
back into my chair, took a long swig of my drink, and closed my eyes. I felt myself harden. But I wasn’t sure if my cock was reacting to Olivia’s touch or thoughts of Victoria as I pictured her becoming flushed from playing, much like she did in my bed.

  I opened my eyes and glanced up to watch the beautiful musician. That’s when I heard it. Chopin. I was struck by the coincidence, the piece I often went to, to calm, to relax, to balance my chaotic mind. The piece I listened to that night over a month ago, that night I knew. That night I just knew she was different. That night I had locked her away in my basement like some animal. I rubbed my forehead. I was a monster. I knew this. This was a reminder of exactly who I was. To put me in my place.

  It was a difficult piece, complicated, a piece one might rarely be listening to in a place like this. But then again, this was a special night. Agents were paying attention. The entire crowd was paying attention.

  I could see the pink hue of her chest, her white skin feverish from the passion of the music. I tried to look away. I tried to convince myself that I didn’t care.

  “Hey—let’s go out back,” Olivia suggested. “You are far too stressed out. Let me take care of that.”

  I looked at Olivia and then looked back up to Victoria. “That’s the best idea you’ve had in a long time.”

  “Good,” she purred. She pushed her perfectly straightened bangs to the side. “When this song ends then.”

  Victoria finished and paused between the final note, and the crowd clapped with enthusiastic energy. She blushed. I saw it and she looked to find my eyes. I quickly looked away.

  “Ready?” Olivia rubbed my cock harder over my tailored pants.

  Victoria began to speak.

  “Thank you all so much for coming.” Her voice was soft. Without the microphone no one would have been able to hear it, the soft cadence that I had come to love hearing, even though the room was silent in a deferential respect.

  “My grandfather loved the Etudes. Chopin’s Etudes. I appreciate that you let me indulge myself for just a moment in honor of his memory. He died when I was just a small girl, but he instilled a love of music in me, a love of classical music in particular, that I will never forget. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have ever learned to play. Thank you for listening. How about something a bit more upbeat now?” She smiled demurely at the crowd and I saw her gaze searching for me again.

  “Let’s go then,” I tugged on the hem of Olivia’s skirt. There was no sense in pretending I could care for Victoria the way she wanted me to. And the sooner she realized that, the sooner she could get on with her life. I had been giving her mixed messages and false hope for too many weeks now. I knew who I was. I knew I was a monster. It was time she saw that once and for all, for certain. No more hopes for love or happy endings.

  “In a minute,” she giggled. “It would be rude to leave this soon. We have all night. I can be a little more patient.”

  We listened to a few more songs and snuck off to find a storage room off in the back. Olivia’s greedy, perfectly manicured hands were at my fly before I could even get the door shut.

  “Slow down,” I chuckled.

  I got the door closed and she pushed me up against the wall, getting down on her knees in front of me. She took my cock into her mouth and I closed my eyes, concentrating on the moment. But all I could see were Victoria’s emotional eyes.

  “Mmmmmm…” Olivia moaned, as her tongue licked my shaft and twirled atop the tip to clean the precum that had formed there. “You taste good, baby,” she purred.

  Olivia had learned exactly what I liked and needed but I just couldn’t quite stay present. Vignettes of Victoria trampled my brain and I struggled to relax, to be in the moment, to enjoy Olivia’s very skilled tongue.

  She gripped my cock into her tight little fist and began to pump. Her tongue danced under the soft skin of my balls. “Relax, baby,” she cooed. “I’ll take care of you. Let me take your stress away.”

  I gripped her short black bob into my fist. I shoved my cock as far down her throat as I could and began to guide her head, hard, unforgiving, fast, and still, I couldn’t quite get Victoria out of my mind’s eyes.

  Fuck.

  I pulled her head off my cock, and she gasped to breathe again, sucking in the air I had deprived her of.

  She looked up at me. “What’s the matter, baby? Come back,” she panted.

  I began to zipper up my pants. I wouldn’t look at her. Somehow she disgusted me in that moment. Probably because I saw myself reflected in her. And I didn’t’ like what I saw.

  “What the fuck is going on, Thorne?” she hissed up at me, standing back up from her knees, running her hands down her skirt.

  “It’s over, Olivia.” I said it before I could stop myself.

  “What?”

  “I’m sorry if that sounds harsh. I…I’m just…It’s just over.”

  I could see the tears forming in her eyes but she wouldn’t let them fall. “Fuck you, William. Just fuck you.”

  “Olivia. I’m sorry. You knew what this was. You knew it would run its course eventually.”

  She acted as if I slapped her and stared right into me.

  “You love her, William. Don’t think that this has anything to do with anything other than that.”

  “Olivia…I…I don’t know what to say…”

  “Don’t say anything else. It’s obvious. Don’t try to deny it.”

  “Olivia. Stop it. I don’t love anyone. I just…”

  “William. This is silly, stupid. Everyone can see that you’ve changed. I knew you loved her by just the way you look at her. You have never looked at me that way.”

  “Olivia. I’m sorry.”

  “See?” she snapped, her tears ceasing to threaten to fall, her poised and polished veneer quickly readjusted. She stood up even straighter.

  I knew she was right. Could I admit it? Was I ready to admit that I had finally let down my guard and fallen in love?

  “Admit it,” she said sternly.” Just admit it.”

  I looked at her.” I’m sorry, Olivia…”

  “Admit it!”

  “Jesus Christ, Olivia. That’s enough. Lower your voice.”

  Her green eyes no longer held pain but just anger.

  She lowered her voice. “You’re a coward.”

  “What do you want me to say? Fine. I think I love her. Okay. Yes. I love her. Does that make you happy?”

  “Fuck you, Thorne,” and she whizzed out past me, forcefully slamming the door behind her.

  Fuck, I mumbled under my breath, took a deep breath, and fixed my clothes, paying special attention to tuck my shirt in again. Did I? Love her? Had I really just admitted what I had known all along? I ran my hands through my hair and walked over to the door and grabbed it open. I exhaled.

  I stepped out into the hall when I heard someone quietly talking.

  “No. I told you. I do not think it was him. You say a cigarette? He has dedicated his whole life to anti-smoking crusades. It doesn’t even make sense.”

  What the fuck? It was Victoria. Who was she talking to? On whose phone?

  She sounded breathless, panicked, as she spoke quickly in a whispered frenzy. “I have gotten close to him, but I will need more than a few months. He’s not just going to confess something like that to me. Trust takes time. Plus. I don’t think he could have been involved with that. I think you have the wrong person. You can’t put blame on someone just because his mother may be a horrible person. He has done great things with…”

  “Victoria!” I snapped. Who the fuck was this woman? Who was she talking to? Was she talking about me? My past? I felt all the blood drain from my face. Of course she was talking about me. Cigarettes. Confessions. A horrible mother. She knew. But how?

  She dropped the phone and spun around. Tears formed in her eyes. “I…I…can explain. I…I’ve been meaning…”

  “Shut the fuck up, Victoria. Just shut the fuck up. Who were you talking to? Who the fuck are you
? So help me god, Victoria, if you don’t tell me right the fuck now what is going on, I can’t be held accountable for my actions.”

  I felt light and dizzy. I felt my controlled world spinning, being torn apart, thrown upside down. Chaos.

  I could barely speak. My gut churned and I felt like I would retch. My head pounded. I saw the girl in front of me in a blur. I tried to steady myself. I wobbled and gripped the wall to gain some equilibrium. I began to see red in my vision, anger mounting. I couldn’t fathom what I had just heard. I couldn’t believe that this chaste, innocent virgin, this girl I had scouted out for months was…was…this. But what was this? I had no clue. I struggled to find enough air and the walls began to close in around me.

  “Start talking, Victoria. Right the fuck now. Who. The. Fuck. Are. You?”

  She trembled, trying to find her words through hiccups. “I am me,” she swelled with emotion. “But I was contacted…by them…to…”

  “To what, Victoria? So help me god. Speak.”

  “…to…entrap you. To lure you. To get close to you. You…I thought…They thought…”

  “What, Victoria? Spit it out! What! ”

  “My name is not Victoria,” she could hardly speak, her voice low, shaking. She wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’ve wanted to tell you so many times, William. My first name is Rose, not my last. Perhaps I can just start with that. If you’ll please let me.” Panic rose above her whisper.

  I started to laugh, insidiously. Just who the fuck was this woman? I’m sure I appeared to be a madman in her view. And it wouldn’t be too far from the truth.

  “Your name is the least of my worries, Rose,” I drew out her name obnoxiously. “They asked you to get close to me because of what? They thought…? What, Rose?”

  “That it was you. That you started the fire that killed my grandfather. That your mother knew. That she was a witness and did nothing. That you were almost fifteen and chose not to tell anyone. I have lived alone my whole life. I have never really loved before you…”

  What? Her grandfather? That’s how he died? In a fire? I laughed again like a crazy man, like a lunatic. I felt my whole entire existence shrink into a pinpoint. That fateful day. That day that had changed my life forever. The day I had killed a man by accident and never told another living soul, except for Jennifer and my mother.