Inferno Anthology

by Gow, Kailin

  “Errol, I’m so happy you called. It’s been such a lovely day and I wanted to share it with you. And tell me, how’s your meeting going?”

  “We’ve begun shooting my television show and everything is running smoothly. Now answer me. Where are you?”

  “I’m out in the country learning all about dairy farming, pigeons, vineyards and organic farming. It’s been a beautiful day and so fascinating. The air is wonderful out here.”

  “The country?”

  She could almost hear the disdain in his voice.

  “Yes. The region of Alsace.”

  “Alsace? Why the hell did you go all the way out there? There are plenty of farms close to Paris.”

  “I wasn’t doing the driving. Henri brought me out here.” After a long silence, Taryn said, “Errol? Are you still there?”

  “You went out to the country with that… hick?”

  “Errol, don’t say that. Henri’s been perfectly sweet and charming. He’s been a great guide. And you know, he knows a lot more about food and cooking than you give him credit for.”

  “Yeah, I bet he does.”

  Amused by this unexpected jealous side of him, Taryn chuckled. “Errol.”

  “I honestly don’t see what’s so funny, Taryn. If you wanted to go out to the damn countryside, you should have told me. I would have brought you to some of the finest, most beautiful…”

  He stopped and Taryn could hear his exasperated breaths.

  “And where are you now?”

  She hesitated.

  “Taryn, where are you? I know you’re not at home. I just called there. Where are you staying tonight?”

  “We stopped for dinner at his parents’ house. It’s too late to drive back to Paris, so…”

  “No.”

  “What do you mean, no?”

  “I won’t have it. I won’t have you sleeping out in some country shack with that…”

  “Errol, you’re being ridiculous.” Her amusement faded as she saw just how unreasonable he was. “It’s a perfectly beautiful home and they’ve been so welcoming. His mother even laid out a pair of pajamas for me.”

  “How quaint.”

  “I have my own room, if that’s what you’re…”

  “Taryn, I want you home, in my apartment, in my bed.”

  “But you’re not even there.”

  “All the more reason!”

  “Errol, it’s late. It’s already growing dark outside. Besides, there are a few more farms Henri would like to visit tomorrow.”

  “I don’t care, Taryn,” Errol snarled. “If you want to go out and visit farms, I’ll take you out to visit farms. Do you understand me?”

  Taryn inhaled deeply as she considered his demand. “Errol,” she whispered as she let the air slowly seep out of her lungs. “I don’t understand. What are you afraid of?”

  He groaned and for a moment she thought he’d hang up on her.

  “Do you really think I haven’t noticed, Taryn?”

  “Noticed what?”

  “The way he looks at you; those puppy dog eyes… all country charm and boyish lust.”

  “I think you’re exaggerating.”

  “Really. Are you going to tell me that he hasn’t made a single move on you since you’ve been out there? That he hasn’t held your hand? Wrapped his arm around your shoulder? Kissed you?”

  Taryn remained silent. If she told him…

  “You don’t have to say anything, Taryn. Your silence is more than enough.”

  “Errol,” she hushed. “It was a brief and innocent kiss. I told him right away I had no intention of…”

  “It doesn’t matter what your intentions are. Don’t you get that? If he has intentions, he’ll do anything to change your mind. He’ll do anything to make you think he’s the better… I bet he’s already badmouthed me, hasn’t he?”

  Silence.

  “Hasn’t he!?”

  Chapter 19

  Errol tossed his phone onto the couch of his dressing room and raked his fingers angrily through his hair. Pacing the room, he considered his options. They’d already taped more shows than they’d originally planned.

  But leaving now to go… where? He grabbed his phone and scrolled through his files to find all the information he had on each student.

  “Henri,” he muttered as he came to the young farmer’s name. “In Walbourg.”

  With the snap decision made, he grabbed his jacket and walked out.

  “Errol,” his producer called. “I wanted to go over the last bit that you did. I think the lighting was all wrong and that thing… what was that… cow’s brain? A riz de veau? Hey, hold on. Where you going?”

  “Sorry, Danny. I’ve got urgent business back home.”

  “But, we have a show to do. Everybody’s here, waiting and ready. And all the food we…”

  “Personal emergency. I have to get there.”

  “Hey,” Errol’s agent said as he came up to him. “Errol, buddy, a lot of money has been put into this production. You can’t just up and leave when…”

  “We got more shows in the can than you’d planned. You know damn well you’ll get all that money back and more, so save the lecture.”

  “Getting all of this together wasn’t easy, you know.”

  “Don’t give me a hard time. I have to get home. That’s all.”

  An hour later he was on a flight home. He slept as much as he could on the flight, though his sleep was constantly disturbed by dreams of Taryn.

  The thought of her in another man’s arms… it was enough to drive him mad. What was she doing, right then, at that very moment? Was she with Henri? With that young juvenile? Naked in his bed, against his hard, young body? Was he touching her soft skin? Kissing her elegant neck? Watching those beautiful eyes of hers close in ecstasy as he thrust into her?

  In a fit of rage, he got out of his seat, waking the other passengers around him. He muttered an insincere apology and paced up and down the aisle until the flight attendant told him to sit down and buckle up.

  Moments later they landed at Charles-de-Gaulle airport, where he quickly made arrangements for a flight to Strasbourg. There, he rented a car and sped his way to Walbourg. His hands gripped the steering wheel with fiery rage as he imagined Taryn waking in Henri’s arms that morning.

  Had they made love all night? Had that damned young country virgin tried to please Taryn the way only a real man could? Was he, at this moment, still holding her in his arms, kissing her, arousing her, fucking her?

  With Henri’s address permanently engraved in his mind, Errol drove through the beautiful valleys of the Vosges Mountains without even noticing them. The beauty of his surroundings was lost on him as he thought only of Taryn and the night she’d spent with her novice lover.

  He pulled up in front of the little, old country house and wanted to gag. It was so stereotypically quaint, he thought he’d vomit. Instinctively, his gaze swept over the windows of the second level. Which room was hers? Better yet, which room was Henri’s?

  Just as an older man walked out of the house and came to greet him, Errol got out of the car and walked up the path to the house.

  “Bonjour,” the man said with a jovial grin plastered to his ruddy face.

  “Taryn,” was all Errol said.

  The jovial grin faded and the older man turned back to the house. Moment’s later Taryn emerged with her lovelorn puppy nipping at her heels.

  “Errol. My God, what are you doing here?” Though clearly surprised and shocked, she smiled as she came up to him.

  Errol nodded a menacing greeting at Henri. “Get in the car, Taryn.”

  “You must have traveled many hours to come out here,” Henri said. “Why don’t you come in for breakfast?”

  “I ate on the plane.”

  “Errol,” Taryn said, her face bright and glowing with effervescence and joy. “Henri and I were just talking about going up to visit Chateau…” She looked back at Henri with a befuddled and amused grin. �
��Fleckenstein, right?”

  Henri nodded. “You could join us. It’s a beautiful…”

  “I have no desire to visit anything whatsoever with you,” Errol said.

  Smiling an annoying amount of glee, Taryn came up to him and put her hand to his arm. “There are a few farms we want to see along the way. Henri’s parents say the castle is lovely this time of year and we could…”

  “No,” he grunted.

  Her smile faded and she reddened as she glanced at Henri then looked at Errol. “There’s no need to…”

  “Get in the car.”

  “Errol.”

  “Taryn, just get in the damn car.”

  “Hey,” Henri said as he took a step forward.

  “Stay out of this, son. I’m taking her home.” Errol grabbed Taryn’s wrist, turned on his heel and dragged her out to the car.

  Looking over her shoulder she waved. “It’s all right, Henri. Thanks for everything. Please, thank your parents for me. I had a great time.”

  “Get in the car.” Errol opened the door and shoved her inside then slammed the door behind her.

  “What’s gotten into you?”

  Staring straight ahead, Errol drove off, leaving a cloud of dust to blot out the image of Henri who stood, stunned, as he watched the car drive away.

  “Errol. What is with you? I was just…”

  “I told you I wouldn’t stand you staying here.”

  “You’re blowing this all out of proportion. Henri is a classmate and he’s helping me get familiar with…”

  “I don’t want to hear it.”

  “For crying out loud, Errol. You can’t keep me from going where I want. I’m not your property to do with as you will.”

  “You became mine the moment you made my home yours, you got that?”

  “That’s what you think.”

  “Damn it, Taryn.” He suddenly slammed on the brakes and turned onto a narrow dirt road that cut through a corn field.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  Errol shut the motor and pounced on her. In an instant, his hands and lips were all over her, devouring her, tasting her, licking her. At first she resisted, and tried to push him off as she clenched her jaw tight to keep him from entering her mouth.

  “Tell me what you did with him.”

  “What?”

  “That country bumpkin… that hick.”

  “Nothing.”

  “Did he touch you?” He tore open her shirt and unclipped her bra. Angry and possessive, he grabbed her breasts. “Did he touch you, Taryn? Did he slip his hand in to feel you up?”

  “No.”

  He unfastened her jeans and shoved his hand down her front until his fingers circled her sensitive nub. “Did he?”

  “Errol, no.”

  Clasping his mouth over a nipple, he suckled then sank his teeth in.

  “Ouch, Errol. You’re hurting me.”

  Sitting back, he looked into her eyes. “You don’t know what hurt is.” He got out of the car and came around to open her door. With a firm grasp on her wrist, he yanked her out of the car, slammed the door shut and pushed her up against the car.

  With an urgency that consumed him, he pressed his body against hers and rammed her mouth with his tongue. His hands kept busy tearing off her clothes and throwing each item to the ground.

  “Errol, what are you…?” Taryn’s voice was filled with the thrill of the unknown and the fear that accompanied it.

  Errol kicked off his shoes and pulled off his pants. “I’m showing you who you belong to; who you belong with. I’ll not have you going off with another man, Taryn.” He pushed down his jeans and plunged his long harden anger deep inside her, and she moaned in response before she began swerving her hips in response, rocking with his rhythm. It was exactly what her body craved. She clenched while Errol, with relentless intent, pounded into her.

  “Oh Errol!” she moaned, clawing into his back. He was so hard and large, she’d never felt so full. “I want you, more of you, please…harder. Take me harder so I know you’re real, back into my life, and not just a dream.”

  “I’m not in your dreams, Taryn,” Errol pounded hard. “I’m very much real, as my fucking you now is real. You’re mine,” he repeated with every hard thrust. “Mine.”

  Quickly, too quickly, he spilled all his anger, jealousy and insecurities into her. Sweaty and breathless, he leaned into her and brushed his lips across her ear, taking her hand and lacing his fingers through hers. “You’re mine.”

  Chapter 20

  As Taryn dressed for her first night at home with Errol, she smiled as she replayed their hour long frolic in the cornfields of Alsace. At first, she was worried about the possibility of being seen by strangers. She was naked and doing unspeakable things with this man out in the open. What would French country folk think?

  But after Errol quickly spent himself, he took her again, slowly, deliciously and with the tender hands of a man who treasured his woman. Through his kisses, he’d confessed his sins. “I knew the moment I saw your photo, I wanted you, Taryn. I knew I wanted to be the first to discover you. Why do you think I planned to meet you before you met the rest of the class? Damn it, I knew all the young men in class would do all they could to get your attention, to impress you.”

  She’d looked at him with shock. Had he really gone to all that trouble? Did he really wanted her that much? As he made love to her, with his eyes filled with lust and his lips soft as they caressed her skin, she couldn’t imagine herself with any other man but him.

  “I loathe the notion that you enjoyed yourself with that young Henri. No other man should hear you laugh the way I do. No other man should please you the way I do. No other man should touch you. I’m the only man, Taryn.” His lovemaking had become more ardent. “I’m the only man, do you understand me?”

  A worrisome voice called from the back of her consciousness, warning her of the danger of such obsessive behavior; all this possessiveness and jealousy. It was flattering to think he wanted her all to himself, but it was also troublesome to see the extent of his obsession. She nonetheless chose to ignore it. This man, as beautiful, charming and talented as he was; this man that so many women would go to the ends of the earth to get within arms-length of… he wanted her. He wanted her, cared for her… He wanted to possess her. And she felt the same for him.

  “I love you, Errol.” The words had snuck out of her mouth of their own volition.

  Again, as she looked at the tantalizing lace costume Errol had insisted she wear, she blushed as she remembered uttering those dangerous words. Her breath had caught in her throat as she’d anticipated Errol’s sardonic laughter, but it never came.

  Instead, he’d replied with a request. “You love me, Taryn?” he’d said as his hands gripped her buttocks and squeezed while his erection sought out her deepest desires. He thrust into her, causing her to groan. “I don’t believe you. I don’t believe anyone who says that. What would you do to prove it?”

  “Anything.”

  “Anything?”

  She’d known instinctively what he’d wanted from her. She’d do anything to show him the depths of how she felt, this poor man, this man who had never felt love from anyone except the nana he recently lost. Despite his tough exterior, his dominating personality that made him rule the kitchen as well as the bedroom, he was a caring, deeply passionate and sensitive man. She saw that part of him, even when she wasn’t looking, when he took care of her after she had food poisoning. She saw that every night when he made love to her, the tenderness he would have for her when he bathed her, took care of her, made sure she ate, slept, and did well in her studies. It hurt that he didn’t think he could ever be loved, that he could never experience that, but she knew she loved him…this complicated deeply flawed beautiful man, and she had to try.

  For weeks he’d hinted at his interest in seeing her bound; handcuffed. They’d briefly sampled the effects of being tied up the first time they’d made love, and it seemed
to ignite his desire to see more. However, the thought of such complete lack of control unnerved Taryn and her fear had kept her from allowing him to fulfill this fantasy with her.

  Now, with their emotions so clearly spelled out, she’d succumbed to his wishes; in part to please him, to prove to him how much he meant to her, but also to satisfy her own curiosity.

  What would he do with her once she was handcuffed?

  Shy, despite the many degrees of nudity in which he’d already seen her, she silently emerged from the bedroom. While the black lace traced its way across her belly, it circled her breasts, leaving them entirely exposed. The crotchless panties added only a trim of frilly lace about her thighs and above her buttocks.

  “Why the blush on your cheeks?” Errol said as he turned and took in the sight of her. He reached out for her hand and led her to the dining room. “Let’s see what I have planned for dinner tonight. Since we’ve been apart for so many nights, I want this night to be something special; something you’ll remember.”

  Taryn looked at the assortment of jars and bottles set on the table. “Looks like you’re ready to make a sundae,” she said as she picked up a bottle of chocolate syrup and a jar of cherries. Also on the table were a pot of honey, a container of whipped cream, a jar of marmalade and a bottle of Grand Marnier.

  “I think we’ll start with a blind taste test,” he said. He pulled two sets of handcuffs from his back pockets.

  Taryn swallowed the ball of uncertainty that quickly rose to the back of her throat. “Funny,” she said with a nervous chuckle. “I thought you were going to pull out a blindfold.”

  “In due time.” He held the handcuffs out, letting them dangle in front of her. “Ready?”

  Putting on a brave face, she smiled and held out one wrist. “You do have the keys, right?”

  “You worry too much, dear.” He clamped the handcuff to her wrist then guided her down to the floor so he could clamp the other cuff to the table leg.

  She looked at the big table, its solid oak legs sturdy and strong. She’d secretly hoped he’d handcuff her to something she had a chance of freeing herself. As she lay back, she stared up at the underside of the tabletop. Errol clamped the other handcuff to her wrist and stretched her arm out to clamp it down to the other table leg.