Memories began to tumble unchecked through her mind. Dani stopped running, and sat down on the step in front of a closed shop. Tears began to well in her eyes. In her minds’ eye she was eighteen again. She remembered the vivacious, cocky girl from the ghettos fighting to make it big in the city. Dani had been fearless back then, ready to take anything and anyone on. Her papa had left before she was born, and after a lifetime of grinding poverty, mama had died of cancer, broken-spirited and in agony, in their squalid little shack. Dani was eleven when she became an orphan. From that day on, she vowed to escape the ghettos and have the kind of life denied her mother. For a few years she had lived semi-feral, before sweet-talking her way into a job as a waitress at an upmarket bar in one of the city’s hottest night spots.
The pretty and confident girl soon became very popular with the staff and customers. She was earning good money and life was sweet, until the night Jean-Baptiste walked in. Tall, handsome and rich he caught her eye straight away. Her sultry dark looks, and smouldering eyes, like pools of onyx he called them, had snared him straight away. He set about wooing her, showering her with gifts, taking her to fancy restaurants and using his natural charms to lure her into bed.
He wasn’t her first, but he sure as hell was her best. The men before, boys really, had only been capable of sweaty fumbles. With no concept of foreplay, and quick to cum, they left her wholly unfulfilled. Jean-Baptiste however, was completely different. Taking his time, he teased her tight little cunt with his fingers, prolonging her ecstasy to the point of torture before finally bringing her to shuddering orgasm. When he fucked her, it had been hard and frantic. After the patient and sensitive foreplay, he had taken her roughly, ramming her mercilessly with his thick dick, while she moaned and clawed wildly at his back and toned buttocks. His savagery had woken a deep hunger inside her. To be dominated by her man, held down and filled with his meat, had been an amazing experience. She let go of the independence she valued so highly, allowing herself to become a plaything to be used ruthlessly.
They complemented each other perfectly. The sex continued to be amazing, and Jean-Baptiste treated her like a queen. He moved her into an elegant apartment in an exclusive neighborhood and almost got them kicked out the first night, bending her over the kitchen table and fucking her so hard and fast she screamed her head off and was left hoarse for two days. Afterwards, he took her for a lavish dinner at an exclusive restaurant. When they had finished, the couple had gone back home where they screwed nice and slow until dawn. In the morning he was gone. Off on the first of many mysterious business trips that would come to punctuate the relationship.
Despite this and despite her suspicions he was mixed up with something illegal, Dani was blissfully happy for a couple of months at least. Then Jean-Baptiste began to change. She had been right about him being mixed up with drugs. She discovered he was a high ranking member in one of the most vicious gangs in the city. One night, she had been woken up when he had staggered into the apartment drenched in blood. On the way to an important meeting, he had barely escaped an attack in retaliation for something one of the gang's members had done to a rival group. He would have died if not for her. She had laid him down on the couch and called the numbers he told her to, getting him the medical help he needed. She had been out of her mind with fright, terrified of losing him. But he pulled through, and despite now being sucked into the brutal world Jean-Baptiste inhabited, Dani was determined to stay with him.
However, after that night, life was no longer the same. The attack left Jean-Baptiste fearful of his own safety. He became paranoid, suspicious of everyone around him. Dani bore the brunt of most of his insecurities. She could not leave the apartment without his permission or go anywhere without his approval. He took her cell phone off her, and checked up on what she was doing. The sex, once rough and exciting, became mechanical and cold. Often, he couldn’t finish, going limp and leaving her frustrated. She got the blame for that, and bore the bruises as he relieved himself through violence. Pretty soon, the beatings replaced fucking. She fought him at first, which only made things worse, before learning it went easier on her if she was submissive and meek.
Her life became a living hell. She was a prisoner and Jean-Baptiste grew more savage and unstable. He never went anywhere without his bodyguards, and one of them, Paulo took pity on her. They became friendly, not lovers, though she sorely missed the feel of a man inside her, and he tried to help her as best as he could. He got Dani her favorite candies and magazines whenever he could, and anything else she needed. Sometimes he even managed to smuggle her out of the apartment when Jean-Baptiste was away. During these brief respites, he would take her to coffee shops and parks. She could relax for a couple of hours, and pretend she lived a normal life, if only for a little while.
Then Jean-Baptiste had found out what was going on. He accused her of sleeping with Paulo. When she had denied it, he punched her so hard she nearly blacked out. Everything became a blur after that. She was dimly aware of being bundled into a car, and driven off into the outskirts of the city. When she had collected her wits again, Jean-Baptiste’s men were dragging her into a disused warehouse. Paulo was already inside, gagged and tied to a chair.
Jean-Baptiste, wild-eyed and seething with hate, had entered and yanked off the tape covering Paulo’s mouth. He had ranted like a mad man, accusing Paulo of betraying him. When Paulo tried to protest his innocence, Jean-Baptiste had cut off his little finger. After that, the nightmare began. Paulo’s screams still haunted Dani as she was forced to watch Jean-Baptiste and his thugs systematically torture the man. Then Jean-Baptiste pressed his gun to Paulo’s forehead and shot him in cold blood. Numb with shock, Dani had watched Paulo’s body jerk like a puppet, and his head snap back.
Then one of Jean-Baptiste’s men pulled Dani to her feet. He marched her out of the warehouse and onto the wasteland behind it. She assumed she was going to be killed, and part of her welcomed death. At least this way she could be free of Jean-Baptiste’s grip forever. Then by some miracle, the thug lost his footing. As he slipped, he let go of her. Instantly, survival instinct had kicked in, and she began running. She ran into the night, not looking back. The men did not follow, or if they did they did not catch up with her. By dawn she was wandering the streets, bedraggled and exhausted.
It was Joshua who found her first. He and his best friend Andrew owned a leather goods shop in a nearby mall. The svelte young man had gone out to get fetch coffee and bagels for breakfast, when he almost stumbled over her. Their first conversation was a little hazy now. All she could really remember were Joshua’s deep soulful eyes, filled with concern for her. Somehow, she had garbled through her story, and Joshua had taken her straight to Andrew.
The big man had intimidated her at first, but when he had heard her story and Jean-Baptiste’s brutality, he had just wanted to protect her. They had closed the shop and taken straight back to the apartment they shared together. Joshua had cleaned up the cuts and scrapes she’d suffered, while Andrew made her a veggie omelette, his speciality breakfast.
As she gratefully wolfed it down, along with a steaming cup of coffee, she learned that Joshua and Andrew had been ghetto kids too. Like her, they had battled to get out of poverty and make a decent life for themselves. She wondered if they were gay, and was surprised at how disappointed she felt if they were. Seeming to read her thoughts, Joshua had laughed out loud and assured her he and Andrew were just friends. Best friends who had grown up together.
“We’re straight,” Andrew had told her, with cold iron certainty. “Well I am,” he then added with a sly smile. “Don’t know about this pussy.”
“Ignore him,” Joshua said, grinning wolfishly. “He’s just jealous I have more luck with the ladies than he does.”
“You have more luck with the slower stray dogs in the alleys more like,” Andrew retorted drily.
They made her laugh, and more importantly they made her feel safe. There was no question that they would help her. Both o
f them promised to protect her if Jean-Baptiste ever came looking for her.
So Dani began a new life with her two boys, as she thought of them. At first she had been scared to death of Jean-Baptiste hunting her down, and worse, Joshua and Andrew suffering the same fate as Paulo. However, Andrew heard Jean-Baptiste had been stealing from his own gang, and her crazed ex-boyfriend executed by his superiors as a warning to others.
She began to relax and start her new life in earnest. Joshua fixed her up with a job waiting tables, and she moved into their apartment. There had been an attraction from the start. Both the boys were too hot for her not to have feelings like that. The attraction was mutual, she was sure of it. The looks, from both Joshua and Andrew, when they thought she wouldn’t notice. Andrew had a habit of walking round the apartment in just his briefs, showing off his muscled physique and tight buns. Joshua was a little more subtle, but he made a point of showing off his lean body whenever he took a shower.
Despite their attentions things did not get too heavy. After escaping Jean-Baptiste, she was in no hurry to find herself another boyfriend, and they respected that and gave her space. Besides, they both had their fair share of girlfriends to work through. Joshua usually went out to look for fun, slinking back home in the early hours of the morning. Andrew however, brought many of the girls he picked up back to the apartment.
Another memory enveloped her. It was the night Dani was woken up by the sounds of lovemaking coming from Andrew’s room. Reliving the experience, she saw herself listening to the moans and cries of the girl he was fucking. Her hand had begun to slowly caress her firm abdomen. Then, her fingers traced a sensuous trail down into her panties. Gently, she teased her cunt, aroused now by the other girl’s cries. She heard the creaks of Andrew’s bed and the big man’s low grunts. The thought of his strong tattooed body, thrusting deep into his woman, made her even wetter. A couple of her fingers pressed deeper into the slit. Her body arced as she consciously tightened the vaginal muscles round them. Biting her lower lip, she played with the little bump of her clit, slowly stimulating it and letting her pleasure mount. In the next room the girl’s cries grew louder and Dani picked up speed, synchronising herself with the hard fucking. She saw Joshua’s cute, wolfish face and savoured the image of his lean, toned body. She imagined him and Andrew taking her together and the roar of orgasm rushed through her taut body.
Just as she reached her peak though, Paulo’s blood smeared face filled her mind. The fires of pleasure were snuffed out as she relived those terrible hours of torture and his brutal killing. Her mounting orgasm crumbled to dust and she was crying uncontrollably. She had buried her head in to the pillow, trying to blot out the sounds of the lovemaking she had been so readily enjoying. After the tears came a dark realisation. While Paulo’s death hung over her, she would never be able to move on with her life, never be able to enjoy her body or the pleasure of another man.
It had been that understanding that brought her to Madame Laveau. Everyone knew about the old witch woman, working her dark magicks in the depths of the ghetto. With deep trepidation, Dani had gone to the woman’s shack. Like a frightened kitten, the girl huddled in the dark and foul smelling room while Madame Laveau consulted her bones and Tarot cards and gibbered incoherently to the ancient spirits that served the old crone.
Eventually, Laveau had painted a symbol on the inside of her wrist. The cool ink seeped into her skin and almost disappeared, leaving a faint outline that only she would notice. “The power within it will cleanse the darkness in your soul," the witch croaked. "It will make you love again and what you desire most deeply will be yours.”
“What I deeply desire?” Dani echoed.
Madame Laveau had given her a knowing grin. The yellowed remains of the old woman’s teeth were like jagged rocks. “You know what you want girl, and the men you desire will want you to. They will be powerless to resist.”
The roar of thunder brought her back to the present. She opened her eyes and felt strangely refreshed. Memories of Jean-Baptiste and Paulo faded, sliding to the back of her mind like an old nightmare she'd remember, but move past. It was a miracle to feel the weight of the pain and sorrow she had been carrying for so long lift. Forks of brilliant red lightning shredded the sky, followed by the fury of the thunder. At that moment, the heavens opened and sheets of rain surged down from the turbulent sky.
Guided by some inner force, Dani stepped back out in to the street. The rains engulfed her, soaking her flimsy clothes. She luxuriated in the deluge, feeling a burning sense of triumph. She gazed down at her body. The swell of her pert breasts showed through the t-shirt and water dripped down along her long, honey dark legs. The rain mingled with the moist heat between her legs and her body pulsed with desire. She knew instinctively, that the power had brought forth the storm. Madame Laveau’s magic was working, and it intended to give her what she desired.
With the grace of a gazelle, she ran along the street, plunging headlong toward the apartment and the men she lived with.
*
“Fuck, I’m horny,” Andrew said as he watched the storm from the window.
Slouched on the couch, Joshua bit back his irritation. “Yeah, so you keep saying,” he snapped, unable to keep the annoyance out of his tone. “It’s all you’ve talked about since we got back.”
Andrew turned to look at him, his beefy arms folded across his broad chest. “Don’t tell me you don’t feel it. You think it’s something to do with the storm?”
“I think it’s something to do with you being a dirty bastard,” Joshua retorted, resting his bare feet on the coffee table. “Why don't you stop bellyaching and go jerk off.”
“Why, you wanna watch me,” Andrew asked sarcastically. “Not that I can blame you. I'm magnificent.”
Joshua barked a laugh. “In your fucking dreams man.” Andrew did not answer. He turned and looked back out at the rain. It was coming hard now, smacking mercilessly against the window panes. Joshua had hoped when the storm broke it would get cooler, but the stifling heat that had plagued them all day had not lessened. They had both stripped down to their shorts, but it had made little difference. Joshua ran a hand through his damp hair, and shifted uncomfortably on the couch. The boner he had made sitting uncomfortable. It didn’t help that he had to try and keep it hidden from Andrew. Though he been half joking about going to jerk off, he was beginning to wish the other man would go off and do it in his room. At least that way, Joshua could tend to himself.
The bad boy between his legs needed some serious attention and he definitely had to get relief some time pretty soon. Lightning, bright and blood red, flashed outside, followed by an angry clap of thunder. Joshua wondered if Andrew was right. Maybe it was the storm. It didn’t seem natural with its weird red lightning, and the deep stirring of lust he was feeling had started with its oncoming.
Bullshit! His mind snapped at him. What the hell was wrong with him? Storms didn’t make you horny, no matter how strange they were. He clenched his hands, fighting down the urge to rub at his throbbing meat. If Andrew caught him playing with himself, Joshua’s life wouldn’t be worth living. Maybe he should just call a couple of numbers on his phone, try and get a couple of girls to come over here and help them out. Andrew would definitely like that!
He dismissed the thought out of hand. Something told him that wouldn’t be satisfying enough. The heat he was feeling needed sating with something special. He needed someone special. A deep, aching urge consumed his body. It reached out from the base of his balls infusing every inch of him with a savage, feral hunger. There was only one woman he wanted. With terrible certainty he knew there was only one woman alive able to tame the rampant beast pulsing inside him.
“Dani will be home soon,” Andrew said from the window. His voice was low and husky. As if reading his thoughts, Joshua knew Andrew was experiencing the same feelings he was. He wanted Dani as well, but they weren’t going to fight over her. Some instinct he had never had before, told him exactly how
things were going to play out.
Joshua lay back on the couch, a sense of calmness settling in his suddenly fluttering belly. Dani. The girl he and his friend protected, the girl they would both die for. Sweet, gorgeous little Dani, she was like a sister to him. His mind lingered over her firm breasts and tight, ripe body. He had thought about it before, fantasised about it. He was a nice guy, but no saint. Friend or not, the girl was hot as hell. And there was no harm in just fantasizing. But had never considered his dreams would become reality.
Until now that is. He closed his eyes and listened to the steady thrum of the rain.
*
Bedraggled and soaked to the skin, Dani finally fought her way through the Quarter and reached her apartment. Its pitted faded but still grand façade rose up before her, and a shiver of trepidation ran through her every fiber of her being. For a moment, she thought about not going in. She could go wait out the storm at a nearby coffee house, and let the lust heating her body subside. After one final moment’s hesitation, she pressed forward in to the lobby.
Their apartment was on the third floor, and the building was eerily quiet as she headed up the stairs. The elevator, as usually, was broken. She didn’t mind the walk, it helped build up her sense of excitement. Her heart was hammering hard inside her chest, and ripples of pleasure ran down her legs. She couldn’t explain what was going on, but she was certain she was reaching a turning point. The rain had washed away Jean-Baptiste’s stranglehold over her, and she was sure she was approaching a new beginning. With a hand that was slightly shaking, she put the key in the door of her apartment and opened it.
Ready or Not: The Collection Page 3