by M T Stone
“And you can’t?” she asked, her eyes widening once again.
“Nope. Carter is going to tell the world who I am if I don’t make it through all ten levels.”
“What a fucker! Isn’t that blackmail or something?”
“Probably, but it’s not like I can go to the police or anything.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to complete all ten levels and then I’m going to get my revenge,” I told her giving my best evil eye.
“How are you going to do that?” Her demeanor suddenly shifted to intrigue.
“I don’t know yet. I’m just going to wait for the right time and place. When it presents itself, I’m going to pounce.” I had to smile at the thought of it.
“You are way calmer than I could ever be. I’m not cut out for that kind of drama,” she admitted. “I would completely freak if he threatened me like that.”
“Don’t sweat it. He has no reason to threaten you.”
“Well, just to be on the safe side… I’m done.”
I didn’t reply. It didn’t really matter to me one way or another. I was going down the path with or without her, so she had to do what was right for her. I was just hoping that I could trust Gunner to take me down that road.
“What was level four like?” she asked after a brief silence.
“Once Gunner took over… I can’t even describe it,” I told her, raising my eyebrows and shaking my head.
“Isn’t it weird? It’s like crazy bad and crazy good all at the same time,” she shook her head, matching mine.
“That’s exactly right. I have never had a more painful experience or more intense pleasure than in that single moment when he ripped those clothespins off me.”
“Clothespins?”
“Yeah, he called it a zipper. I had clothespins all the way from my nipples to my yoo hoo on both sides. When he pulled the string, they all flew off at the same time,” I explained.
“Ouch! That must’ve hurt,” she scrunched up her face.
“You wouldn’t even believe it, but he did it right during an orgasm and together they were just completely overwhelming. I can’t even begin to describe it.”
“I know,” she replied, sitting back in the seat. “I think I might go for another level or two, but I’m not sure I can totally trust Sapphire. She is kind of scary,” she finally admitted.
“You should get hooked up with Renegade,” I suggested. “He looks a lot like Gunner. Blade is good looking, too, but he’s the scariest of them all.”
“How would I make the switch? Text the number again?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll mention it to Gunner.” I smiled. “He’ll get the two of you hooked up. I really don’t think you want to go back to your boring old life, do you?”
“No, I was just thinking about that,” she replied with a dazed look on her face. “I wish it didn’t have to be so extreme one way or the other.”
“You and me both.” Shit my thighs hurt.
After picking up Hannah, we headed for home. I managed to hold myself together because I didn’t want her to worry, but my head was swirling with mixed emotions. Ever since I had felt Gunner’s cock in my mouth, I had been looking forward to level six. Being so close to him without being able to have him had been absolute torture. Now however, it appeared that everyone had been involved in deceiving me. Even if Carter has a hold over Gunner, he could’ve given me some sort of warning.
~~~
Later that evening after Hannah was in bed, my thoughts once again turned back to Gunner. How could he drive me into a state of pure bliss one moment and make me so angry the next? My phone rang just as I slipped on a silky robe. It was Gunner’s ring tone. He must have sensed the turmoil he was putting me through.
“Can I help you?” I asked coldly.
“I just wanted you to know that you’ve been on my mind since the moment you left,” he replied in his sultry tone. “How are you doing?”
“I’ll live,” I replied in the same cold tone.
“I’ve been going over everything in my head and there is no way I could’ve saved you,” he explained. “By the time I realized who you were, it was already too late.”
“What do you mean it was too late?”
“He already had you on video. You know he would’ve used that against you.”
“That may be true, but I still should’ve had the right to make that choice.”
“I know Jillian, and for that I am truly sorry,” he replied trying to get back to where we had been only hours before.
“You have six more sessions to make it up to me Gunner,” I replied, emphasizing his dungeon name. “When is our next show?”
“I talked to Carter a while ago about that. Now that we are doing live shows we can only do one per week,” he explained with a hint of disappointment in his voice. “Suzanne has found that they get the best results from spacing them out.”
“Suzanne… that little bitch. I still can’t believe that she played us perfectly,” I replied as another source of anger was reignited.
“She was in theatre growing up, so she definitely knows how to play a part,” Gunner explained.
“That makes sense. Have you ever done any scenes with her?” I asked, feeling a stab of unfounded jealousy.
“No.” He chuckled a bit. “I think she prefers to stay behind the scenes.”
“She’s pretty, though.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty enough, but I don’t think Daddy would ever let that happen,” he said, spawning another evil thought in my devious little mind. Maybe I’ll include her in my little plan for revenge. She and Carter drew me into this, but she’s above it all? We’ll see about that.
“Did I lose you?” he asked after the abnormally long pause.
“No. I was just thinking about something,” I replied, not wanting to share my thoughts at the moment. “By the way, my friend Amber wants to work with Renegade for the next few levels. Can you make that happen?”
“No, unfortunately,” a hint of disgust crept into his voice. “He and Sable have been sneaking around for months and finally got caught last Tuesday night.”
“So Carter fired them?”
“No, but he threatened Renegade. He got so pissed that he walked off the set and no one has heard from him since.”
“Wow, doesn’t he have a lot to lose?”
“He doesn’t give a shit! That’s why we call him Renegade.” He chuckled. “If you try to tell him what to do, all you get in return is the middle finger.”
“Shit… Amber really wanted a guy for the next levels instead of Sapphire.”
There was a long pause before Gunner said, “The only two choices right now are Blade or me.”
“Then Blade will have to do. I’ll let her know,” I replied making a quick decision for her. “Are we on for next Friday?”
“That’s what I originally called about. Carter is giving us the prime spot, eight o’clock on Friday night. He’s hoping for another record breaker.”
“What are you going to do to me this time?” I inquired, keeping things in a business tone.
“Remember when I asked you if you were more afraid of drowning or being electrocuted?”
“Yeah! And I told you both, but electricity was definitely the worst!”
“Exactly, so level five will be all about facing those fears,” he said in his menacing tone.
A little flutter crept into my stomach that continued to grow long after I hung up with Gunner that night. When I was seven, a neighbor kid had been electrocuted when his kite got wrapped up in a power line. After that incident, my parents drilled into me the dangers of electricity. Even though I knew there would be no real danger, the thought of being shocked sent chills down my spine. Shit, I can’t even use my safe word.
If I tell Gunner the story from my youth, he’ll go easy on me. He might even switch to something else instead. I needed to focus on comforting thoughts, so I could get some rest. The evening
had been a physical and emotional rollercoaster and I definitely needed sleep.
Damn my legs hurt!
Chapter 20
Raven
“Have you talked to Gunner about Renegade?” was the first thing out of Amber’s mouth when she called me Saturday morning.
“I did and you are all set,” I assured her.
“So I’m going to be working with Renegade from now on?”
“No, it will be Blade actually. Renegade is out of town for a while.”
Long pause.
“Didn’t you say Blade was kind of a psycho?” she asked apprehensively.
“I don’t think I used the word psycho. He’s just a little wild,” I replied, trying to downplay it. “You can always use your safe word if he gets too rough.”
“Red?”
“Yup! If you say it, everything stops immediately. Carter doesn’t want anyone getting hurt and cashing in on his liability insurance.”
“Okay, but is he as hot looking as the other guys?”
“He’s actually better looking than Renegade,” I replied honestly.
“Better looking than Gunner?” She pried.
“I’m the wrong one to answer that one. You know I’m a little biased.”
~~~
It was six days, ten hours, and twelve minutes until my next dungeon encounter, so I really needed something to occupy my time. I woke up Hannah to see what she wanted to do for the day. Since it was a fairly nice day, we decided to start out by having a picnic in the park. Kids are so easy to please at this age. If only I could find contentment so easily.
Even though I wanted to stay mad, I found myself thinking about Gunner. I kept going over of conversation time and again until I convinced myself it wasn’t his fault. The sad fact was that he was most likely at the dungeon working with someone else, while I sat home Saturday night pining away for him. I should finish out the ten levels and ditch him. Otherwise, I will have no one to blame but myself. I opened a bottle of my favorite pinot noir in hopes that it would improve my mood. I’ll never forget my first wine buzz, that warm, fuzzy feeling that washed over my body. I still like wine, but the feeling just isn’t the same anymore. I wonder if that will ever happen with sex?
Toward the end of my second glass, the pain in my heart had begun to subside. I found myself watching Notting Hill for the umpteenth time. Julia Roberts is so pretty. Even though I knew the storyline by heart, I still found myself on the verge of tears when she left him behind and went back to the U.S. with her boyfriend. Why are people so stupid? So what if she’s famous, why does that matter? It shouldn’t, because love is love.
My phone buzzed, interrupting my trance, and it was a text from Gunner.
Gunner: I’m bored. What are you doing?
Me: Having a glass of wine and thinking.
Gunner: Thinking about what?
Me: You and the little sluts you are with.
Gunner: I’m done for the night, so I’m just hanging out.
Me: That’s good. I kind of wish we could do these levels faster and get them done.
Gunner: I agree, but the wait is what makes them so intense.
Me: So that’s why he insists on keeping couples apart?
Gunner: I think so. He also doesn’t want a bunch of drama.
Me: I still think it’s because he’s a controlling asshole.
Gunner: He has his moments, but it is a business.
Me: I know. It’s all about the business.
Gunner: Goodnight.
Even though I felt a little better after exchanging texts, I was still left with a longing feeling. He said he was done for the night, which meant he had been with someone or maybe more than one. Who knows what he’s been doing. Why do I even care? I’m getting paid, so it’s not a relationship. Like he said, “it’s a business.” God, I wish it had been real. I would give up the money in a heartbeat.
I poured the rest of the bottle into my glass and went back to staring blankly at the television. Visions of me touching his powerful chest and ripped abs continued to creep into my mind. I need to run my hands across them on Friday. I’ll have to make sure I do that before he restrains me. Somewhere near the end of the third glass, I passed out on the couch. When I awoke a few hours later, my thoughts had turned to my sour stomach instead of Gunner. Wine always helps.
~~~
Monday Morning 7:00am
How can you mend a broken heart, how can a loser ever win? Those were the words that woke me on Monday morning. I love some of those old Bee Gee songs, but after two days of struggling with my feelings, it was the last thing I needed to hear. I slapped the off button and crawled out of bed. Thank god, I get to go back to work. I couldn’t take any more time off, fussing and wondering.
I’m definitely not ready to quit my job. If we can only do one live show per week, I’ll have way too much free time. I’ll drive myself crazy if I don’t have anything productive to do. I wonder what Gunner does all week? I probably don’t want to know. I need to drop Hannah off and get to the office where I can focus on something productive.
Since my normal daycare provider was out of town for the week, my mother had agreed to watch Hannah. Even though I appreciated the help, it also meant that I would have to see her twice a day for the next five days. We had never gotten along well, but things had become much worse since Dad’s death. She had expected my sister and me to fill his shoes, but my life was already busy enough the way it was. I wasn’t quite sure why she would’ve wanted to spend more time with me anyway, all we ever did was argue.
“Do you have a new boyfriend?” was the second thing to come out of her mouth. The first had been, “You’re running late again.”
“Why would you ask that?”
“Because I can tell it on you,” she replied while Hannah studied the two of us.
“No, I’m just in a better place,” I told her, backing away to make a break for my car.
“I’m happy for you, dear. You need some stability in your life for both you and this little sweetie,” she said putting an arm around Hannah.
Stability… if she only knew. I tried to recall a time when she had put her arm around me and called me “sweetie.” Instead, I remembered all of the times that she had pointed out my flaws or called me a “Daddy’s Girl.” The reason I had favored Dad was because he was the only one who gave me hugs and seemed genuinely happy to see me. Maybe that’s why I consciously tried to treat Hannah the way I always wanted Mom to treat me. I couldn’t imagine having a strained relation with my daughter, especially since she was already basically fatherless.
Driving away, I once again suppressed my feelings and cranked up the radio. There is no need to dwell on the past. I need to sit down and clear the air with her one day. It just won’t be today.
Gunner
First thing Monday morning it was my ritual to login and see how much I had made in the previous week. I was especially excited this time because of the two record shows I had done with Raven. In fact, over seventy percent of my income had come from the scenes we had done together. Based on my take, I figured out that she was going to receive just over sixty-seven thousand dollars for the week. She’s going to be amazed when she gets that check on Friday.
“Are you staying out of trouble?” Carter asked when I called him.
“So far.”
“What can I do for you, Gunner? Have you heard from Renegade?”
“No, but I’m sure he’ll resurface after he cools off,” I replied, knowing that would most likely be the case. “I want to talk to you about working exclusively with Raven.”
“I’m already down to you and Blade,” he rebuffed. “I can’t afford to lose you, too.”
“You won’t be losing me. Raven and I can have a record breaking run if I’m able to focus all of my energy on it.”
“I’ll tell you what. If you two put together six more shows like the one you did last Friday, I’ll let you out of your contract,” he countered.
He knew that putting together six record breaking live shows in a row was a nearly impossible challenge. The only thing that could save us was if we could maintain the extreme level of sexual tension that had been building up between each show. The scenes I did with other subs felt like work, whereas, the ones with Raven felt real. That passion was driving our success with the members.