by Lauren Wood
“I like to consider myself well-rounded. I go out of my way to do different things for the sake of saying I did it once. I’m perfectly comfortable in my personal haven. This place is designed specifically for my needs. The walls are soundproof so that nobody can hear you scream.” I was poking fun and I could see the gears working in his head.
“I hope you’re joking. I’m sure there are ways for you to make me scream and not necessarily in pain.” This was the first inkling that something physical might happen between us.
“I have this need to repeat myself about my door being closed to visitors. There is no lock, but I have a snub-nosed revolver underneath my pillow for such an occasion.” He didn’t look scared and the object outlined in his pants told me of his excitement.
“We will have to play it by ear. You never know what strange bedfellows will make. Sometimes you don’t know a good thing until it’s right in front of you.” I was not opposed to doing something, but it had to be on my terms. I didn’t like the control being wrenched from my hands.
“I don’t know why this is hard for you to understand. What you see standing in front of you is off limits. I won’t be responsible for my actions if you get too close. I always sleep with one eye open. The slightest noise will wake me up from a dead sleep. You could say I tapped into those instincts of a mother waiting for their crying baby to inform them of their needs.” I was still female, but I could easily become the predator and not the other way around.
“We can talk about that later. I brought some things and I hope that you will appreciate the length I have gone to make it easier on the both of us.” He lifted his lone bag which was gray and had no real label to indicate it was something high end.
It was nondescript and maybe he was learning to be less conspicuous. The blueprints he had acquired from the city were a red flag. He was leaving bread crumbs in his wake.
“I didn’t ask for your help and this doesn’t prove anything to me. In fact, I would say that you have gravely made a mistake. This thing could go sideways. Let’s say everything goes off without a hitch. They will still investigate you and what happens when they find out that you had the blueprints to this man’s home in your possession? Don’t even answer and we both know living behind bars is not an option for you.” I was trying not to show the anger seeping through every word.
“I’m not an idiot. I got these off the Internet at a café offering free Internet to all of its customers. I made sure not to leave any sticky fingerprints in digital format.” I was actually mildly impressed, but he still needed to know that his actions had consequences.
I walked away from him and I wasn’t even thinking. I peeled off my sweater and dropped my pants at the threshold to the bathroom. It finally dawned on me that I was completely naked and at the mercy of his hungry appetite for my form.
“Don’t even get any bright ideas about joining me in the shower. I’m comfortable in my own skin and this isn’t an invitation. I never even thought you were in the room when I took off my clothes. It just goes to show how much influence you have in my life.” I slammed the door shut loud enough to make him aware of how his health would be jeopardized by opening it up again.
The water was steaming up the room and then I turned it to freezing cold to give me a chill right to my bones. I didn’t want the temptation of making him think I was an easy target for seduction. I did want him, but his arrogance made him less likely to find me on my back looking at the ceiling with him on top of me.
“Scarlet, you should always take time to smell the roses. This life can bury you in feelings of regret and recrimination. Find yourself something of an anchor. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as you can lose yourself in it without thinking about those who have fallen at your hand.” My benefactor was a wealth of information and every word coming out of his mouth was like gold. I’d made sure to soak everything in like a sponge.
My body shivered to the touch from the freezing cold droplets making contact with my skin. It made me aware that I was alive. People were living on life support waiting for somebody to show them the mercy of pulling the plug. I wasn’t one of them. I couldn’t even begin to think in those linear terms.
“I hope I’m not disturbing you. I’m not going to open up the door. I find myself curious to know what is in the other room under lock and key.” I was making the effort to meet him halfway, but he was stepping over the line I had drawn in the sand.
“You don’t want to go in there and once you see it there’s no going back.” I thought for a moment I had dissuaded him from continuing this line of questioning.
The silence was a breath of fresh air and then I heard the unmistakable sound of a body slamming up against the door. I quickly got out and wrapped my body in a towel to avoid any miscommunication.
He was standing at the door with the hinges barely hanging on. He was impetuous and acted without thinking. This man didn’t know the meaning behind the word no. He lived his life by following the beat of his own drum. This was something we had in common although I would never admit to any kind of shortcomings.
“I hope you’re satisfied. You act like a child throwing a tantrum when you don’t get things your way. I can see from how your face turned white as a ghost that you don’t approve.” My many trophies were lined up in glass jars filled with formaldehyde. It contained various body parts which had left many coroners shaking in their boots.
“This is serial killer behavior. I thought I was hiring a professional and not some deranged killer.” I slipped past him. I could smell his natural scent and was very tempted to drop my towel to give him something more to think about. Those jars of discarded body parts were my safe place.
“What did you expect to find in this room? I was hiding all of this for a reason. I thought it best to keep some of my life to myself. These are sacred in my eyes. They hold stories that I’m reminded of during the witching hour. I come in here from time to time to take a walk down memory lane.” They were my security blanket. I needed them and without them, I could become jaded and unfeeling.
“I thought I was going to find guns and other useful paraphernalia in our quest for vengeance.” Those particular delights were under my bed in a locked box. This room was my joy and a chance to rekindle the spark for the reason why I was doing this.
My family’s tragedy was another ones gain. I didn’t want any of this to happen to some unsuspecting victim. It was inevitable bad things would happen. The prudent course would be to stop it before it did, but it wasn’t always that easy. Predicting when somebody was going to snap was an art form which I had barely scratched the surface of.
“I keep those things close at hand in case there is a need to use them.” The terry cloth towel was slipping and I wasn’t about to show my embarrassment over my nudity.
“I want to pretend I didn’t see this, but I can’t do that. It’s disturbing to think that you can find any good reason to come in here. I should be appalled, but it actually makes me horny.” That was quite apparent by the length of his pipe pressing obscenely against his pants. There was this moment of indecision.
I dropped my towel to see what reaction I was going to get. I was about to find out.
Chapter three
He lifted me easily onto his shoulders and carried me into the bedroom. The door flung open in his haste to deposit me on the mattress. I felt weightless and walking in somebody else’s shoes.
“You don’t know what you’re doing. This is a classic case of transference. You are using me to lose yourself in the moment. You don’t want to think about your sister and I have become a substitute for the grief that has been strangling you.” He was frantically taking off his shirt and showing off his muscles in a more profound way than he did when he was wearing the shirt.
“You sound just like my shrink. I’m going to tell you the same thing I told him. Sometimes sex is a good way to express what you feel inside.” He had my legs in the air and my body positioned on the edge of the mattress.
&n
bsp; “I’m not complaining. I’m not going to lie here and tell you that I don’t like sex. A person would have to be crazy to say that they don’t enjoy the pursuit of pleasure. It is better when you have a partner willing to expand their horizons.” I felt empowered. I ran the length of his masculine chest with my toes tracing the individual muscles on the way down to his belt line.
“I haven’t been with anybody who understands what I’m going through. It’s usually one night stands with the sex anonymous and over with before we know it. It does get rid of that sensation for an indeterminate amount of time. I can’t say this is a good idea.” I was making him stumble over his words with my bare toes dipping into the waist of his pants.
“I would say being naked in front of you is half the battle. There is nothing preventing you from taking liberties with my body.” I was usually the Alpha, but this time he was showing that he was up to my standards.
“I look at you and I’m reminded of all the things that slipped out of my grasp. There were opportunities that I didn’t grab onto when I should have. We only get this one life to live.” I struggled to a seating position, stripping off his belt and snapping it against the leather to get his attention.
“Calvin, I was doing my best to keep you at arm’s length. I noticed you from the beginning. I wanted to see what you were hiding. I have become overwhelmed to where I don’t know what my sex drive is going to do next. Be prepared for a bumpy ride. The only way I like it rough and hard.” I was attempting to lower his zipper with my toes. It wasn’t easy and I think that he was amused by how I was trying something totally out of character.
“This isn’t like me. I usually go out of my way to avoid girls like you. High maintenance is the only thing that I will say.” I had his zipper down and my toes had snuck into the opening to massage his length through his underwear.
They were red and I could focus my attention on the bugle. I smiled sweetly, but inside I was wickedly enjoying the sexual tension in the air. I wanted him to pull it out and give me my first perusal of the evidence of his arousal.
“Calvin, I’m going to need you to do the rest. It sounded like a good idea in my head, but the logistics are a little more difficult.” I could still give him a reason to moan my name. My toes became quite proficient at keeping him like stone. My imagination was only limited by how far I was willing to go.
“I don’t think that I’m going to do that. I’ve proven my point. There’s no reason to take things any further.” He sounded like a woman changing her mind on prom night before penetration in the back of a limousine.
“I can’t believe you were playing a game with me. It’s dangerous to fool with my affections.” I was anxious to uncover something more than average. He was not exactly shy about bragging. It was time for him to put up or shut up.
“I just wanted to be the one to let you know this is off limits.” He was once again using my word against me and making the fuming anger steam out of my ears.
“You can’t be serious. No man has ever been able to resist me in the past. What makes you any different than all of them? The male gender is weak and can easily be subjugated by the female form.” He still hadn’t zipped up but my toes had stopped moving despite my best effort to continue. It was as if my whole body was crying out for satisfaction and wasn’t going to get it.
“I’ve never been more serious in my life. I can’t let you think that you hold all the cards. No matter how much I want to fuck you, it’s not going to happen until you are coming to me begging on your knees. You may not think it will happen, but trust me it’s only a matter of time. Let that be a lesson not to dangle the piece of meat unless you’re willing to go the distance.” This was a new sensation of rejection and I felt like I had to do something to turn the tables back in my favor.
“I told you from the moment you stepped into this house that there were ground rules. I believe I mentioned that whatever I say goes.” I wrapped my legs around him and held him firmly between the strength of my thighs.
“There’s nothing that you can do that will change my mind. I’ve already taken care of myself before coming over here. It was my way to avoid temptation. It’s time that somebody gives women a taste of what they put men through every day of their lives. I can restrain myself. I’m not sure that you can be trusted in the same room with me.” He was trying to wrestle free, but the death grip had not abated. I was determined to make him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
I flexed the lips of my sex like I was winking at him. He was momentarily spellbound unable to voice what he was feeling deep inside. I took his silence and used it to manipulate his flesh. I was limber enough that I could reach out and pull him from the confines of his underwear.
“Nobody dares say no to me without facing retribution of some kind. I don’t like this feeling and you need to be taught how to treat a woman right.” I laughed maniacally and lay back in a prone position with my feet grabbing onto his special friend.
“I don’t know what you are doing, but it’s not going to… work.” He lost his train of thought and whatever restraint he had was quickly diminishing.
I had him between my feet and he tried to pull free, but only managed to leak profusely. His words had conviction, but his body was falling victim to my charms.
“Control is only a one-way street. I’m the one in the driver’s seat and I don’t want you to ever forget it.” I was forced into this position by his denial of my pleasure. I wondered in the back of my mind if this wasn’t his plan all along. Whatever happened was going to be by my rules.
“It seems like I can’t move without hurting myself severely. You obviously have me at a disadvantage.” I was indulging in a bit of kinky play. It was interesting to have him at my mercy.
“I would, in your position, go along for the ride. The only way you are getting out of this is by shooting your cream all over my toes. I don’t see that being a hardship for a man like you. I don’t doubt you worked yourself into a lather before coming over here. It doesn’t mean I can’t coax another few samples from the reservoir of your excitement.” I could feel that vein in the back throbbing with a need to expel the burden from his balls.
“You are walking a dangerous line. I won’t let you take my dignity. I’ve had too much taken from me all ready to give in willingly. I might be under pressure in more ways than one, but I can extricate myself from this position. You don’t think I can, but I have ways of taking the power out of your hands.” I thought that he was bluffing. He was just talking to hear himself speak. It must’ve been his way to bolster his strength to walk away from a good thing.
“I don’t see you going anywhere until I give you permission.” The speed of my feet quickened and he was going to become one of my victims.
“I could easily stay here and let you finish me off, but that would be setting a dangerous precedent. I don’t want you to think this is easy for me, but it is necessary.” He pulled away from me. He grunted his response when I pressed with more resilience against his escaping appendage.
“Walk out that door at your own peril. I won’t be coming to you on my knees. I will consciously and with malice tease you until you can’t take it anymore.” He was swallowing hard and biting his bottom lip at the display of a woman in need.
“I look forward to seeing who can win this game. I admit the attraction is enough to melt the paint from the walls. Someone is going to lose this battle and it’s not going to be me.” It was fine for him to say that, but to back it up was going to take an amazing amount of willpower. I just didn’t think that he would be able to hold strong after I got through with him.
“The game is only good until one person loses. It’s going to be a little more interesting living with you. I can make anything sexual and you’re going to find out shortly this girl is capable of going the extra mile to get what she wants.” Touching him with my feet and briefly with my hands had given me some degree of pleasure. It wasn’t enough to touch the right buttons to spark somethin
g of a four-alarm fire.
“History has taught us that women have the power to deny or invite sexual advances. I thought that it was about time to change the rules of engagement. Do what you need to. I will fight you every step of the way.” His fiery determination was something I was going to overcome. It was necessary to put the power where it belonged…in my hands.
“Leave, but don’t expect to be asked back anytime soon. The only way you are going to breach this perimeter is by admitting defeat at the hands of a master manipulator.” He backed away, smiling the entire time. I was looking forward to the day I was going to wipe that smug smirk off of his face.
Chapter four
I was looking over the grotesque photographs taken at the scene of the crime. The cord around her neck was courtesy of the drapes in her apartment. It had taken some time, but I had finally found a duplicate.
“Scarlet, I know that these kinds of murders are personal. He killed her during a heated argument over what she was making for dinner. Who does something like that?” I had found out through my work that people could hurt each other in multiple ways.
“Calvin, I can’t promise you the closure you are after. Nothing is going to bring her back. Do you really think this is something that she would want for you?” I was getting to know him over the last couple of days. He was still purposely walking around after a shower without any clothes on to get underneath my skin.
“I don’t know what she would want. She’s not here to give me her unbiased opinion. If you’re asking what I think she would want then I would hope it would be justice. She’s not going to get it by conventional means. This guy has deep pockets and a family willing to turn a blind eye.” My reconnaissance had given me a predictable route for the killer’s daily behavior.
I was wearing a sports bra tight across my breasts with nothing on underneath it. The gym shorts were a throwback to a different era where shorter was better. I had no problem shifting my priorities. I just had to move a certain way and a part of my anatomy would become exposed.