Vignettes of a Master

by Luke, Jason

  Claire looked up and sudden shock spread across her face. Her eyelids fluttered like beating wings, and then she began to smile.

  “Hello, Jonah Noble,” she purred. She reached for my hand and made to stand up. The guy she was with looked furious. His face turned red and a sheen of sweat blistered across his forehead.

  “Who the fuck are you?” he growled.

  “I’m the man who is going to take this pretty woman home tonight. I’m going to strip her naked and make love to her till the morning. I’m going to leave her exhausted and satisfied in my bed. That’s who I am,” I said, and then pointed a threatening finger at the man. “And you will sit there and finish your drink.”

  The guy got up, flung himself out of his chair. I grabbed his meaty arm and pulled him close so that my voice was nothing more than a harsh whisper. “I’m Jonah Noble, you fat bastard,” I hissed, “and you’re Tom Smith. You work for me downtown as a mid-level accountant. Now, if you want to keep your job, and your wife, and lovely home, you will sit down right now and smile. Otherwise you will be standing in an unemployment line on Monday morning. Got it?”

  The guy sat down. He was white.

  I left the bar with Claire. She was red hot.

  The Book Bellas

  April, 9th.

  Jonah at his father’s grave trying to make amends.

  I crouched down in the soft grass and ran the palm of my hand across the headstone, feeling the lettering inscribed there as though I were blind, reading brail. My fingers played over the ridges and hollows.

  I knew the words by heart.

  ‘HERE LIES JACKSON NOBLE…’

  Weeds had begun to grow near the grave. I pulled them from the earth and tossed them aside.

  “I haven’t been here much,” I confessed, talking aloud, talking to my father. “I’m sorry about that. I guess after all this time those things that happened between us at the end… those things should have faded, hurt less… but they haven’t.”

  I thrust my hands deep into the pockets of my pants and stared down at the marble slab. There was a small glass vase near the headstone, with a couple of plastic flowers inside. The flowers had faded and drooped from the sun.

  I looked up into the blue clear sky, and then one last time down at my father’s grave. “I’m glad you’re dead,” I admitted. “It’s the truth, painful as it is to say. You weren’t a good man – you weren’t a good father… and I can’t forgive you. But I love you, dad, regardless…”

  The Book Bellas

  April, 9th.

  Jonah gives Leticia a spanking in the kitchen.

  There was a hot flush of defiance in Leticia’s eyes, and the fine peppering of freckles across her nose glowed like flakes of gold from the heat of her temper. She folded her arms and her eyes became narrowed.

  “I won’t tell you again…” I warned, and my voice rumbled like thunder.

  Leticia didn’t move.

  Quick as a snake, my hand lashed out and gripped Leticia’s shoulder. I pulled her to me. “I warned you!” I said.

  Leticia’s eyes grew wide as saucers and a cry of protest rose in her throat. She was shocked and outraged. I slid my hand down her arm until it was wrapped firmly around her wrist, and then bent her forward, over the edge of the kitchen table. Leticia began to squirm and thrash. I pinned her to the table easily and with my free hand I reached down and tugged the hem of her skirt up until it was bunched around her waist.

  “No!” Leticia cried out, not in pain or fear, but in abject humiliation. I heard a sound like a sob, and then she kicked her legs and twisted her head helplessly from side to side.

  I reached for the elastic of her panties and snapped it. The silky lingerie fell down around her thighs.

  Leticia’s bottom was firm and perfectly rounded. I smiled mirthlessly, and cupped my hand to maximize the sound, but minimize the sting. “You asked for this young lady. Now you’re going to get a spanking until you apologize and learn some discipline!”

  Two Ordinary Girls and their Books

  April, 9th.

  Jonah watching Leticia at her nude photo shoot.

  She was self-conscious.

  Painfully so.

  The photographer turned to me, set his camera down and shrugged. He wedged a cigarette in the corner of his mouth and mumbled, “I’m taking five. Talk to her, please!”

  I nodded. I waited until the man had left the studio, and then I stepped close to Leticia. I shrugged off my jacket and stood there silently for long seconds, my hands thrust into my pockets and my shoulders hunched in deep thought. Finally I looked into Leticia’s face.

  “Play a part,” I said softly. “I don’t want nude photos of you… I want nude photos of your alter-ego… the sexy sultry woman that turns me on.”

  Leticia looked crestfallen. The nude photo shoot had been a disaster. She stood staring up into my eyes, wearing a pink bra and panties. The fabric was sheer – I could see the dark shape of her nipples and the shadow of her sex beneath the gossamer fabric.

  “Leticia, every woman is self-conscious of their body. But you need to set that aside and become someone else for an hour – you need to become a character – imagine yourself as a famous sex siren, or a well-known female porn actress. Try to imagine how they would move, and how they would look. I want you to pose for these photos, but I want them to be spectacular… and I want you to be spectacular.”

  Two Ordinary Girls and their Books

  April, 9th.

  Jonah walks in on a girl touching Leticia in his office.

  I pushed open the office door slowly, soundlessly, and stood in the threshold, staring at the sensual scene being played out before me.

  Leticia was standing with her back against the far wall, and in front of her I could see the back of a dark haired woman. I saw arms entwined, and then heard the sounds of soft desperate whimpers of desire.

  The two women were kissing.

  They moved slowly. The dark haired woman had her hands on Leticia’s hips, pulling them close together so that their bodies ground against one another. I could hear Leticia’s breathing becoming more urgent, more hectic.

  Finally the dark haired woman broke the kiss with a long contented sigh and turned to look at me over her shoulder.

  “Well?”

  Leticia’s eyes blinked open. She saw me, and there was a deathly pale look of horror on her face. “Jonah!”

  I held up one hand and smiled. “Relax, Leticia,” I said, and then nodded at the dark haired beauty who had seduced her. “Thank you, Mary.”

  The dark haired woman left the room. She gave Leticia one long last lingering look from the doorway and then blew me a kiss. I closed the door behind her and stood staring at Leticia. “That was fun,” I said. “I hope you enjoyed it too.”

  Leticia frowned, then pressed at her hair and straightened her clothes. “You set that up?”

  “Of course,” I said simply. “Leticia, arousal comes in many different forms. Erotic, sensual, physical, emotional… you need to explore them all. Understanding what turns you on is a journey of discovery… there is more than one destination.”

  Two Ordinary Girls and their Books

  April, 9th.

  Leticia straddling Jonah in the back of a car.

  It was an impulsive gesture – something I knew she gave no thought to. As the traffic thickened and the congestion became worse on the city street, Leticia suddenly threw herself at me with a gasp of reckless abandon. I flinched, and then felt Leticia’s legs straddling me, and the press of her breasts against my face.

  “Is this what you want, Jonah Noble? Is this how you want your woman to be?”

  Leticia rocked her hips back and forth, sliding them in a slow sensual grind so that she brushed the dampness of her sex against me and I felt the sudden thickening and hardening of my own desire.

  She wrapped her arms around my neck, weaving her fingers in my hair and holding me close to her. The press of her breasts was a temptation t
oo great to refuse. I bit the top button from her blouse with my teeth and my hungry mouth hunted beyond the cotton of her top, searching for her breast.

  My hands went around her hips, and I pulled her harder against me. Leticia gasped and there was a lust-filled purr of deep desire in the back of her throat.

  Finally, when her breasts were exposed, when she was sighing and undulating in my arms, I eased myself clear of her body and smiled. Leticia looked down at me. There was a glazed sexual urge in her eyes.

  “You realize everyone can see you,” I said calmly. “This isn’t the town car – remember. This is my Alfa Romeo. It doesn’t have tinted windows. You’ve been on display for every other driver to see…”

  Two Ordinary Girls and their Books

  April, 9th.

  Jonah finds himself in a Nicholas Ryan book.

  I woke up from a deep sleep… there was the sound of heavy breathing beside me. Hoarse, harsh breathing. I opened my eyes and turned my head slowly.

  Leticia was in the bed beside me – but this wasn’t the Leticia I knew. Half of her face had been torn away, and her eyes were red and wild. Blood seeped onto the sheets and her tongue licked hungrily at dry cracked lips. She reached out for me… but there were fingers missing from her hand, and thick dry blood crusted on her arms.

  She snarled – an inhuman sound. A sound that filled me with fear and terror.

  I threw the sheets off and ran naked from the bedroom. I had jeans slung over the back of a chair in Leticia’s living room. I tugged them on. Leticia came from the bedroom, staggering and swaying unsteadily. Her clawed fingers swiped at me and I spun away – crashed through the apartment door and into the hallway of her apartment complex.

  I ran for the elevator. I thumped the button. I could hear screams of terror coming from the street below. The elevator door slid slowly open. I let out a gasp of relief – and then froze.

  Written in blood on the wall of the elevator was a message.

  “This is a gift from Jason Luke.”

  I stared at the sign, and the blood drained from my face. Jason Luke was also Nicholas Ryan – zombie author. I dropped to my knees. This was some writer’s mad revenge. I bunched my fists and screamed my frustration.

  I was going to die, and it was going to be horrible. Jason Luke wanted me dead!

  A note from Jason:

  Needless to say, this was another scene that was a great joy for me to write.

  Schmexy Girls Blog

  April, 11th.

  Leticia moves back to her hometown... and Jonah goes after her.

  Leticia saw me in the doorway, and she froze, poised and tense. There was an air of despondency in her face – a sense of despair and hurt.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked softly.

  “I came for you,” I said.

  Leticia stared at me for long painful seconds. Her hand went to the soft flesh of her throat, her fingers fluttering.

  “Why?” she asked, and then her voice became harsher. “Are you starting a harem? Clearly one woman isn’t enough for you.”

  I said nothing for a long time – I just stared across the empty space of the room. I nodded slowly. “What you saw, Leticia… what you thought you saw… it wasn’t what it seemed.”

  Leticia laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. It was a bitter and disbelieving little hiss. “Jonah, I saw you with that woman!” her voice rose and became suddenly strident. “I saw her in your arms!”

  “Yes,” I said, “but you don’t know why. You don’t know who she was or why I was holding her – and you left before I could explain. So I’ve come all the way here to your home town to find you – and to tell you what you really saw.”

  Schmexy Girls Blog

  April, 11th.

  Jonah explains to Leticia what was really meant behind him holding the other woman!

  Leticia arched an eyebrow. She was unconvinced. “Jonah, what possible excuse could you have? How in God’s name could you explain to me – and convince me,” Leticia’s tone became threatening, “that holding a beautiful woman in your arms was somehow innocent?”

  “It was,” I said softly. I stared into Leticia’s eyes but said no more. The silence drew out. “It was a completely innocent embrace.”

  Leticia turned on me and anger flushed her cheeks red. She stood with her legs astride and her fists bunched on her hips. “Jonah!” she exploded. “You had romantic music playing in the background! How stupid do you think I am?”

  I shook my head sadly and slowly, then lifted my eyes to hers, and suddenly my gaze became like steel. “I think you’re very stupid,” I said. “So stupid, Leticia that you couldn’t see the obvious.”

  The bluster went out of Leticia like a sail that had lost its wind. She glared at me and I could see she was shaking with temper and sudden confusion.

  “The woman is a dance instructor,” I admitted. “She was teaching me how to dance. I wanted to surprise you… a surprise you walked in on and ruined.”

  Schmexy Girls Blog

  April, 11th.

  Leticia feels inadequate when comparing to Caroline, Claire & Sherry.

  “Jonah, I’m not like the other women you have told me about…” Leticia wrung her hands together. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, and she looked up at me, acutely uncomfortable and suddenly unsure. “I’m not exotic, and I’m not adventurous. I don’t have their… their sexuality. I’m just a country girl from a small town. I don’t have anything unique to offer you!”

  I sat down on the bed close beside Leticia so that I could feel the press of my thigh against hers, and the heat of her body through the denim of her jeans.

  For a long time I said nothing. Finally I turned slowly to Leticia and took her hand in mine. “Every woman is different and unique in their own ways, Leticia,” I explained softly. “If you were the same as other women I had known, you would not be so fascinating. The fact that you are you, is what makes you special.”

  I stared into her eyes for a long moment. She made a brave little face and then nodded slowly.

  “The truth is, Leticia, that you still don’t really know who you are. Your body – your soul – have never been awoken. Beneath the beauty that I see lurks an amazing, sexy, sensual woman. I know it. My aim is to help you let the woman you are about to become off the leash!”

  Schmexy Girls Blog

  April, 11th.

  Jonah and Leticia in the rain fighting.

  “I hate you!” Leticia cried out, and it was as if the sound and the pain and the agony in her voice reached all the way to heaven, for at that very instant the heavy dark clouds were torn apart by a jagged sheet of lightning, and the sky filled with torrential rain.

  Leticia spun away from me and started to run. The park was dark – the night sky black and ominous. Heavy curtains of rain came sweeping across the open ground and the grass turned to mud.

  Leticia disappeared. The rain was torrential. She vanished in the hissing grey mist, and I started to run after her. I could hear splashing footsteps and then saw the ethereal shape of her near the park gates. I cried out to her, but the roar of the sudden storm drowned my voice out.

  I saw her at last. Standing by the side of the road. She was drenched. Her clothes hung heavy to her body and she was gasping for breath. Her face was a tragic mask, made worse by the pain in her eyes. I stopped, breathing heavy. I held out my hand to her in a silent plea.

  Leticia shook her head. “No!” she cried. “No!” And then she turned and ran again, fleeing from me across the road… running blinded by her anger into the path of an oncoming car…

  Two Sassy Chicks

  April, 11th.

  The fan’s husband that asked for advice wants to speak with Jonah again.

  The man hovered over the table with an expectant look on his face.

  I smiled thinly, and decided I should stop frequenting this coffee shop.

  “You come here often?” the man asked. A week ago this same guy had
asked for advice about how to please his wife. I stared up into his face. “Yeah,” I said. “Once too often, apparently.”

  The point of my comment sailed over the man’s head. He pulled out a chair and sat down with a sigh. “Can I ask one more question?” there was a desperate plea in his eyes. “Can I ask you how you’re supposed to kiss and touch a woman?”

  I stopped stirring my coffee. Set the spoon down with a clatter.

  “Pay attention,” I said with a shrug, and then sat forward suddenly. “When a woman kisses and touches a man, she is actually subconsciously showing you how she herself wants to be kissed and touched. So she starts at your neck and kisses down your throat. Then she kisses slowly across your chest before sliding her mouth down towards your abdomen. Pay attention!” I suddenly hissed. “That is how she wants you to kiss her. While you’re laying back wishing she would just hurry up and touch your erection, she is giving you all the signs,” I explained.

  The guy looked a little confused. “It’s the same for men,” I said. “When you kiss your wife you probably thrust your tongue into her mouth, then grope between her legs. That’s because you are mirroring the way you actually want her to touch you. Right?”

  The guy nodded with slow understanding. “Hey, that’s right!” he admitted. “I kiss and touch in the way I want my wife to kiss and touch me.”

  I smiled. “And she kisses and touches you in the way she wishes you would treat her.”

  Two Sassy Chicks

  April, 11th.