Annabelle's Angst: NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY SUSPENSE ROMANCE

by Bree Branigan

  “Yeah,” Lauren was too weary to expound. Her suspicions of him were completely forgotten in her weariness.

  “I’ll take you home.” Bryan offered her a ride.

  “No, thanks.”

  “Hey, c’mon. You look so tired,” he insisted.

  Bryan assisted Lauren into his car and sped away towards her apartment. He leaned toward her and let his thumb slide over her breasts with the excuse of adjusting her seatbelt. As his body touched hers, his scent spread to Lauren’s nostrils. It was a familiar scent. A scent that she had just smelled recently. Where? In her state of sleepiness, she was unsure.

  After forty minutes, they were inside Lauren’s apartment. “Do you want anything?” she asked Bryan.

  “I’m fine,” he said, and caught her in a passionate embrace. “What I want is this,” he cupped Lauren’s round breasts and massaged them with his fingers. The huge bulge in his pants was struggling to be free.

  Lauren suddenly remembered where she had smelled Bryan’s scent. It was the unique scent of the masked man; one she’d never smelled before, AND there’s a mole on his arm, her inner mind screamed at her.

  Terrified, she pushed Bryan away, not knowing what to do. Jesus, he was the killer! Why hadn’t she noticed all the similarities before?! The mole, the height, the build and the shoes! If he learned that she knew the truth, she may become his third victim. She became as pale as a ghost, feeling breathless and shaky. She wanted to holler for help, but she knew it would be useless.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” he peered at her.

  “Please leave,” Lauren’s voice trembled.

  “Why?” Bryan attempted again to take her in his arms.

  “Just leave.” She was in tears, and her eyes were mirrors of utter panic and naked fear.

  Lauren noticed that Bryan was staring at her, trying to process what he was seeing. Then, his eyes reflected the shadow of sudden realization. She was certain there was no escaping him. The glint in his eyes changed menacingly, and a sarcastic smile settled on his lips.

  “So, you finally discovered the truth,” Bryan spoke eerily, locking the door, blocking any hope Lauren had of escape. “What took you so long, sweetie?” He flashed his white teeth.

  Lauren held on to a chair as her knees wobbled.

  “Why did you do it?” Lauren shrieked, tears flowing down her cheeks.

  “Hmmm, let me see . . . well, for one I couldn’t let Roy get credit for the research I started.” He sneered at her, “You see I’m working on another drug. I just need a little time.” His voice drifted off. Clearly, he was crazy. In his own crazy world!

  “You’re not a doctor, you’re a criminal,” Lauren screeched at him.

  “The patients are gonna die anyway. What’s the point in prolonging their agony?”

  “You murderer!” she bellowed.

  “Come here sweetie. I’m gonna fuck you hard. You wanted that, right?”

  Lauren watched Bryan transform into a madman. He was prancing all around her and making faces like a demented lunatic. She raced to the door, grabbing the handle, but Bryan caught her and dragged her to the bed. He stuffed her mouth with a napkin he’d grabbed from the table, and taking rope from his bag, tied her hands and feet to the bedposts. Had he come in here knowing this would happen?

  “I know you want my cock, and soon you’ll have it,” he sneered, unbuttoning his pants, and pulling them down to expose a fully erect, throbbing penis. Crawling across the bed on his knees, he began to undress Lauren, his breath rough and ragged. She wrestled and thrashed on the bed, but to no avail. Grabbing her scrubs he pulled them down to pool around her ankles. Shoving her top up, he began to lick her breasts, ferociously, sucking her nipples. She felt his large muscular body on hers, his dick teasing her pussy. I don’t want it! She screamed inside. She felt him sliding up and down her wetness.

  Lauren wished David or one of her friends would drop in. God, if you’re up there, please send someone to save me, she prayed.

  As he teased her willing body, Bryan muttered to himself, his hands exploring her curves. Suddenly, he clicked his fingers. “Eureka, I’ve found the solution. What about dying from heart attack?” He laughed raucously. “It would be a fitting eulogy to you, who have so much empathy for the dead research patients.” She stiffened. Terror froze her body. Sweat mushroomed on her forehead. Bryan left her, and reached into his bag once again, pulling out vials of potassium chloride and a syringe.

  “I’ve never fucked a dead body before,” he laughed gleefully.

  Lauren yanked and pulled, but it was impossible to escape. She couldn’t even cry out loud. She breathed unevenly, sweat mushrooming on her forehead, and horror pasted on her face. I don’t want to die this way, she protested in her mind. Someone save me!

  In desperation Lauren tried to pull herself free. The knots only became tighter. “Please!” she begged. “I won’t tell anyone! Please let me go.”

  “Don’t resist now, sweetie. It won’t take long,” he prepared the drug, taking time to discard the air at the tip of the syringe. “Close your eyes, and go to sleep,” he crooned.

  Suddenly there was a loud CRASH and the door banged open. Through hazy eyes Lauren saw a body propel towards Bryan, knocking the syringe out of his hand. Uniformed men trooped in and handcuffed Bryan, who appeared stunned with the speed of all this action.

  “Hey, what’s this all about?” he scowled at the policemen, feigning ignorance. One began reading his Miranda rights.

  David ran to Lauren and untied her, murmuring comforting words as she cried in his arms. “Thank God, you’re safe.” He hugged her tightly.

  When she was able to speak Lauren asked, “How did you know?”

  “I’ve been working pretty closely with the police,” he told her.

  So that’s why the folder was in your closet, she realized.

  “We were documenting everything. We observed the staff, who went in and out of the research ward and the appearances of the masked man. Only Bryan was on duty in all of the incidences. Then the police found empty vials of potassium chloride in his house, along with the black, gelled wig he used.”

  Chapter 9

  Lauren held on to David until she regained her composure.

  Bryan was whisked away. David and Lauren stayed cuddled in bed. Afterwards, he searched for bruises on her body and tended to them with care.

  Later, they took a slow shower, soaping and washing each other’s bodies, slowly caressing and discovering each other inch by inch. They made love under the warm water of the shower, their bodies dripping, and the squelching sound of his manhood finally penetrating her virgin petals could be heard throughout the bathroom. The sound mixed with their moans and groans of ecstasy. The virgin’s blood flowed down together with their love juices but they were unaware of it as they savored the sensual delight of intercourse.

  That was not enough, though. David carried her into the bedroom, naked, and dried her body with his fervent kisses. In no time at all, his pecker was ready once more for another lusty performance.

  “You’re so delectable, he wants more,” he laughed, pointing to his penis.

  Lauren laughed with him, touching his organ lovingly. “Let’s grant his wish. She wants more too.” She touched her petals.

  Lying upright, David dove into Lauren’s sodden slit. “You want that, hon?” he growled. “Do the same to my dong.”

  In a 69-erotic position, Lauren faced the opposite direction and lowered her lips onto his rigid bell on a pole. He tasted like green mustards and fresh apples, she giggled. She took all the length of his phallus into her mouth, sucking and licking his shaft in slow, tantalizing motions. “Sweet Jesus,” he shuddered as a lightning bolt of delight ripped through him.

  She paused for a while, when a jolt of sensation emanated from her clit towards her breasts, making them burn. The pleasure that his expert cunnilingus produced made her mumble like crazy. He used his fingers to lift the hood, exposing her swollen clit. His tong
ue, circling, flicking, stroking her clit sent her closer and closer to the edge. “Fuck me, baby,” she begged.

  When their arousal had reached its peak, David, let go of her soaked crack, and lifted her up to enter her.

  “Yes, yes, please fuck me,” she cried out wantonly.

  He held her by her waist, raised her, and brought her down into his throbbing, steel rod. He was unable to penetrate her deeply, so he shoved in short, fast strokes until the hilt of his penis rubbed the sensitive tissues of her vulva.

  “Harder, harder . . . ,” Lauren prodded him on, as her hunger for him heightened. “Fuck me!”

  David groaned and breathed erratically as he increased his rhythm and slammed Lauren, up and down, onto his red, furious penis. The superb feeling of being tightly clasped by the muscles of her vagina was too much for Lauren. She gave a long, spastic wail and stooped down to suck his lips. Seated on top of him, she grinded and rotated her hips against his, to take his organ all in. She bounced up and down atop him, riding him wildly. The universe rotated around them as they moved faster and stronger. Their groins smashing against each other, producing squashing sounds, as they hovered on the brink of a gigantic orgasm.

  When it came, it was glorious. Lauren locked her crack into his huge manhood, crying in utter contentment, while he groaned wildly and gave one last, powerful thrust. They remained glued to each other, absorbing all the unimaginable pleasures they thought never existed.

  David juddered as the last of his climax fettered out, but Lauren continued moaning as her orgasm rushed in, over and over, until her body was fully satiated.

  She lay down beside him and they snuggled; his arm under her head. He kissed her tenderly, caressing her hair and pulling her close to him.

  “I love you,” he confessed shyly.

  “I love you too,” she acquiesced, kissing him back.

  Lovers’ Lament

  Chapter 1

  Elizabeth jostled her laptop bag and her purse while she tried to keep her umbrella overhead. The rain was not really pouring down, but it was just enough to make her look like a drowned rat if her hair were to get wet. Her tidy ponytail bobbed as she juggled her belongings down the puddle-filled street.

  She was hoping to finish one last client meeting before she called it a day. The meeting over lunch had significantly drained her energy, and she was really not in the mood for the three o’clock appointment.

  Arriving at the client’s office with just enough time to slip into the ladies’ room and tidy herself up, Elizabeth said a silent prayer of thanks for the ponytail and smoothed a few stray hairs in place. With a quick swipe of rosy pink lipstick, she tucked the dripping umbrella into an outside pocket of her laptop bag and headed to the receptionist’s desk.

  An hour and a half later, she was back out in the rain and headed home. It was a grey and dismal Friday afternoon, and she was ready for a weekend full of absolutely nothing. With a heavy sigh, Elizabeth dropped her bags and umbrella on the tile entryway of her apartment and wandered into her bedroom.

  Reemerging in a tee shirt and yoga pants, she curled up on the couch to select a movie for the night. A few quick clicks on her smartphone, and dinner was on its way too. Life in the big city was convenient for the most part. She got her exercise walking from appointment to appointment; she could speed-dial and order almost any cuisine imaginable; and she never ever had to drive a car.

  After high school, Elizabeth had fled her hometown for something bigger and better. It had not been that long, but she considered herself successful despite a shaky start. When she had first arrived, she ended up sharing a two-bedroom apartment with three other girls just to put a roof over her head. She had finally found a handful of temp jobs, and through several job transitions, had ended up as an executive recruiter for a reasonably large company.

  She liked where she was now, and felt a glowing sense of pride in what she did. Finally, she had enough income to afford a place of her own, and she got to spend most of her days hopping from one client to the next, instead of being stuck behind a desk.

  She also enjoyed the privacy of living by herself. Having grown up with five brothers and sisters, she’d felt lonely at first. The constant quiet had almost made it hard to sleep at night. For a little while, she actually missed sharing the bedroom with her previous roommate. But once she got used to it, she was not sure she ever wanted to share her living space again.

  As for any kind of personal life, it really had not been a priority. After a couple of questionable relationships in her younger years, she preferred flying solo. It was only awkward occasionally, such as when she attended company functions or during the annual trip home to see the family.

  Elizabeth was the fifth of the six siblings, and all her older brothers and sisters had already produced at least two grandchildren apiece. Her younger brother didn’t seem to be on that path, but no one was worried about him since he was the baby. And despite having nearly ten grandchildren, it was all her mother could ask about. Had she met someone and would be settling down?

  Meeting someone and settling down were the last two things on her mind. She was on the fast-track in a career, and had no intention of getting derailed any time soon When she thought about her siblings that had married and stayed in their tiny hometown, she considered them ‘stuck’. And she never wanted to be ‘stuck’.

  About halfway into “The Notebook”, her dinner arrived. Elizabeth wiped the tear from her cheek, and padded to the door. She tipped generously because of the terrible weather, and the young man seemed very grateful. Back on the couch, she dug into her Caprese salad, yogurt chicken and roasted veggies with gusto. When the movie finished, she found herself surrounded by takeout containers and used napkins. With a sigh, she tossed all of it into the garbage and headed to bed.

  *

  The next morning started like most of her Saturdays lately, with a nice long run in the park near her apartment, followed by a stop at the little deli for breakfast. They had this wonderful little breakfast sandwich with egg whites and spinach and Swiss cheese on a really thin bagel.

  Elizabeth had been on the heavier side throughout childhood and young adulthood, but since moving to the city, she had really transformed her body, another accomplishment she took great pride in. She was several sizes smaller than she had ever been, and her golden blonde hair had grown out from the childish bob she used to wear. Sure, her cheeks were too full, her hair too thin, and her legs weren’t as long as she’d like . . . But on the whole, she felt new and improved.

  After breakfast, she stopped by the farmer’s market on her way home to stock up on fresh groceries for the week. “Good morning, Sunshine!” the sweet little old man behind the counter greeted her. She loved being able to chat with the farmers and merchants as she selected her lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers as well as her garlic-infused olive oil. salted rosemary sourdough bread. And she never neglected the dairy farmer who produced the most amazing dill goat cheese and smoked Cheddar. Saturday mornings in New York were such a treat!

  Once home, she put away the food and shed her running clothes for a nice warm shower. The water flowed over her ivory skin and washed away the stresses of the work week. With her hair in a towel and her robe wrapped around her, she wandered around her apartment and basked in her alone-ness.

  Casually, picking up her cell phone as she gazed out the window overlooking the magic of the city, Elizabeth was shocked to find an unknown number from her home area code. She checked the voicemail and had to sit down to listen to it a second time.

  It had been a very long time since she had heard Amanda’s voice.

  Chapter 2

  “Oh! My! God! Lizzy! You have to call me the instant you get this!” Amanda’s voice bubbled energetically through the voicemail system.

  Elizabeth rolled her eyes and had to chuckle. Amanda didn’t seem to have changed a bit. They had been best friends growing up, and had gotten in and out of more trouble as teenagers than Elizabeth cared to adm
it. Not that she hadn’t loved her friend dearly. But the influence of Amanda was one of the things she had escaped from. She was almost certain that had she stayed, she would have ended up deep in a whole of trouble because of her crazy pink-haired friend.

  She made her way back into the kitchen and made a salad for lunch from her farmer’s market finds. As she chewed thoughtfully, she weighed her options. She could call Amanda back and see what the panic was. Or she could ignore the voicemail altogether and move forward with her own life.

  Amanda had always been prone to drama and crises, and as a young adult, Elizabeth had fed into that scene. Maybe she’d needed the excitement in her life. As a grown woman though, she shunned the neediness. Looking back, Amanda cried constantly for attention, and Elizabeth was not sure she wanted to grant it to her.