Virtual Justice

by MA Comley

  “Yes. I don’t like to wear much.”

  “Get back in there and put more on. You want to attract the man, not scare him away the first time he lays eyes on you.”

  Tears pricked the back of her eyes as she slowly turned back into the bathroom. Why would he want me to look nice for someone else? She was beside herself, and the more she thought about the way he’d spoken to her, the more the tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. She reprimanded herself for being stupid. It’s a game, she reminded herself, an innocent game to keep the spark alive. As long as she remembered that, nothing on earth could go wrong. She blotted a cotton wool with makeup remover and wiped her face until every last bit of colour had been cleaned off. Then she picked up her foundation and started from scratch. This time, she piled on the colour. When she’d finished, she admired herself in the glass and concluded that she could give the dirtiest slapper around a run for her money. She squirted a large amount of perfume between her breasts and on her neck, then went back to the bedroom. Morris’s displeasure dissipated, and lust-filled admiration filled his features. His eyes ate through her flesh just as they had the first night she’d met him. She totally understood what the game was all about. The change in him was remarkable.

  “You like?” she asked shyly.

  He held out his hand, inviting her to go to him. He pulled her close, turning his face to rest his cheek against the bare skin of her tummy. “You’re an angel in disguise. A beauty no man will ever be able to resist. A stunning attraction that will entice men when they least expect it. Together, we can and will take love to where it has never dared to venture before.”

  A thrill rampaged through her body like a tsunami. No one had ever worshipped her as he did.

  Before she could respond, he pushed her away from him and stood up. His erection brushed the inner part of her thigh. She wanted him so much and expected him to take her. Instead, he reached for the underwear he’d laid out on the bed and proceeded to dress her. His hands tickled her skin. Every nerve in her body was set on edge by the erotic way he was dressing her. She found herself cursing that he was dressing her rather than undressing her, but she looked forward to the end of the evening, when he would reverse the action. She expected him to pull the dress he’d bought her over her head. However, he retrieved something from the bedside cabinet that she hadn’t noticed lying there.

  “What’s that?”

  “Something that will help tonight go according to plan.”

  “Meaning what?” She frowned as he strapped the little box around her waist and settled it in the small of her back. It felt uncomfortable, and she tried to wriggle.

  “Stay still. I haven’t finished yet.” He attached a small lead to the pack. On the other end of the wire was an earpiece. Pushing her hair back, he inserted the small object into her right ear. “How does that feel?”

  “Uncomfortable and like it doesn’t belong there.”

  “Stop complaining. All will be revealed in good time.” He pulled the midnight-blue dress over her head and smoothed it down over her hips, then spun her around to see if the bulge was noticeable. He turned her back to face him again and leaned forward. “You look good enough to eat,” he whispered in a low sultry voice.

  Her legs crumpled beneath her, and his arm shot out to support her. “Please, let me stay here, with you. I’ll show you what you mean to me.”

  He smiled and shook his head slowly. “Tonight, on your date with Richard, that will show me how much I mean to you.”

  “I’m confused. How will spending time with another man prove how much I love you?” She drew in a breath. She’d never uttered the L-word before, to him or any other man.

  He petted her cheek. “I love you, too, baby. You’ll see at the end of the evening.”

  “Okay.” She smiled brightly. She couldn’t help visualising how fantastic their sex was going to be after she had concluded her date with the stranger and returned to the flat to be in Morris’s arms.

  He picked up another object off the bedside table. “I’ll be listening to you and commenting throughout the evening. There’s no need for you to be afraid.”

  “Is this what the earplug is for?” Somehow, she felt less stressed about what lay ahead, knowing that he would be watching over her. She knew she would cling to that comfort throughout the evening.

  “Yes, darling. I’ll prompt you what to say if nerves take over and you dry up. We all know what it’s like to meet a complete stranger only to struggle through a conversation. You must admit, that never happened with us, did it?”

  She cast her mind back to their first date and smiled. No, nothing could be farther from the truth, thanks to his tenacity to keep the conversation going. “No, it didn’t. I feel better knowing that you’ll be on the end of this.” She tapped the earplug.

  He kissed her lips gently. “I’ll be with you every step of the way, my love. Come, time is marching on. We need to get you to the restaurant to meet your new beau. Don’t look at me like that. I’m kidding.”

  • • •

  Ten minutes later, they left Morris’s luxurious flat and drove to the restaurant. Her nerves took over once again in the car, and Bella found herself sucking in and blowing out several short breaths to calm her racing heart. A weird sensation moved through her. Thinking about the date from an outsider’s point of view, she came to the conclusion that she would be under double the stress of a person embarking on a normal first date. She had that side of things to handle, as well as the fact that Morris would be listening in on the conversation.

  Morris clutched her hand and squeezed it gently. “You’ll be fine, I assure you.” She saw a strange twinkle in his eye as he stopped the car outside the car park before ushering her out of the vehicle without kissing her goodbye.

  On heavy legs, she entered the restaurant and walked up to the hostess at the desk. “I’m here to meet a Mr. Lowe.”

  “Ah, yes. Please, come this way.”

  She spotted Richard instantly. Like a true gentleman, he rose from the table and held her chair out for her. “It’s so good to see you, Sandy.”

  Bella was confused for the briefest of seconds, until she remembered that she was meeting her date under an assumed name. Her confusion doubled and turned to anguish when she looked up at the person whom the hostess was showing to the table behind Richard. There, in all his glory, was Morris. He hadn’t told her that he would be inside the restaurant.

  Morris’s mesmerising voice filled her ear. “Hello, darling. I’m here. Lots of smiles now. Just ignore me if you can.”

  Bella smiled, but her stomach churned vigorously, as if a tornado were building up a huge force inside her. She tried hard to keep the conversation light between her and Richard, and all went well for the first half an hour. But after they had eaten their delicious starters, the small talk dried up. Richard’s eyes were glazing over, like the eyes of the other men she had dated before Morris had come along and swept her off her feet. That should reinforce how much she loved him, shouldn’t it?

  Suddenly, breaking into her distant thoughts, a voice struck up in her ear. “Ask him how many women he’s been with.”

  Bella’s gaze shot over to Morris’s table. He scowled at her and said in her earpiece, “Don’t you dare look over here. Just do as I say.”

  She turned to her date, and her mouth nervously twitched into a false smile. Bella swallowed hard. “Tell me, Richard, how many women have you dated from the agency?”

  A menacing voice erupted in her ear, “I didn’t tell you to ask that. Reach across the table, flirt with him, and ask, ‘How many women have you been with?’ Do it.”

  Bella developed a nervous twitch in her leg. “Sorry.” She swung her jittery leg back and forth as her hand touched his gently. “What I meant to say was, how many women have you been with?”

  At first, Richard tried to withdraw his hand, but she tightened her grip. Then he appeared to relax a little as he contemplated his reply. He l
eaned forward and gave her a cheeky smile. “A few dozen. Enough to have gained a lot of experience over the years. What about you?”

  She smiled awkwardly and delayed her answer as she awaited Morris’s prompt. He wasn’t forthcoming, so she murmured, “One or two.” No sooner had she said the words than Morris urged her to say more.

  “Dozen. One or two dozen. Say it.”

  “I mean, one or two dozen,” Bella corrected, then added a flirty chuckle.

  Richard’s eyes almost popped out of his head. “My, you don’t look the type.”

  Bella felt the colour invade her cheeks. She averted her eyes, until Morris said, “You’d be surprised. Go on, say it.”

  “You’d be surprised.” She was overwhelmed by the need to flee, or to at least take a breather in the ladies’ toilet.

  Morris must have sensed what she was about to do, because he quickly whispered, “Stay where you are. You move, and you’ll suffer the consequences later.”

  She didn’t have time to mull over the menacing threat because Richard grabbed her hand, at the same time he summoned the waiter. “A bottle of your finest champagne.”

  “No, I couldn’t possibly let you buy that.”

  “Nonsense,” Richard insisted. He stood up and placed his chair next to hers at the table, and after he sat down again, his hand latched onto her thigh.

  Morris’s laughter filled her ear. Bella flinched. She wanted to scream and run out of the room. How the fuck have I got myself into such a mess?

  “Be nice to him now. Get that smile, and rivet it in place. Now say, ‘No one has ever bought me champagne before. How will I ever be able to repay you?’ Take a pause and then giggle and say, ‘Oh, I think I can find a way.’”

  She cleared the lump filling her throat. “No one has ever bought me champagne before. How will I ever be able to repay you?” She giggled as instructed. Then she fluttered her eyelashes at her date and added, “Oh, I think I can find a way.”

  The waiter spared her further blushes by arriving and pouring the bubbly liquid. Richard handed her a glass and chinked the edge of his against it. Then he entwined his arm around hers to drink it. “To us. I think our connection is going to prove very fruitful.”

  She took a sip from her glass, and bubbles shot down her throat and tickled the inside of her nose. The urge to be sick took hold. However, she was conscious of Morris being close by, and again, she had to swallow her pride to become a willing participant in his sick game.

  Morris jumped in and told her, “I’ll show you how fruitful later. Go on…‌say it.”

  She took another sip of champagne and gave Richard a sickly sweet smile. “I’ll show you how fruitful later.” God I hate myself so much right now. I feel like a marionette!

  Richard grinned. Luckily, right then, the waiter deposited their main course in front of them. Lobster thermidor had been his choice, not hers. The dish was far too fiddly for her to eat in her nervous state.

  Richard appeared to sense how much she was struggling and decided to feed her. In one respect, Bella was grateful for his attentiveness. In another, the whole scenario was freaking her out.

  “Smile. Damn you, at least look as though you’re enjoying it,” Morris demanded.

  Bella smiled tightly and accepted the food. Unfortunately, Richard expected the same treatment in return, but her hands were shaking so much that she kept dropping the food before it reached his mouth.

  This sparked Morris’s anger to erupt again. “Pull yourself together. I’m warning you. You’ve seen me when I’m angry…”

  She suspected that he’d purposely left his sentence unsaid, but she inferred the meaning behind the absent words. She inhaled and exhaled a few short breaths, then put on the soppiest look she could conjure up and fixed it in place. “This is wonderful.”

  Richard nodded, and his hand disappeared under the table to squeeze her thigh again. “You’re wonderful. Have you had enough? Or do you want a dessert?”

  Morris giggled in her ear. “A dessert back at your place would be good,” he ordered her to say.

  Sighing, playing up her part—not because she wanted to, but because of what would happen to her if she didn’t—she ran a finger down Richard’s cheek. “Your place sounds ideal to me.”

  Richard clicked his fingers to summon the waiter, and with his voice faltering with excitement, he asked for the bill.

  Fear gripped her, and she glanced over at Morris. He glared in response, so she looked back at her date.

  “Don’t look so scared. Smile and leave the restaurant with him,” Morris said.

  After paying the bill, Richard rose from the table and held on to her chair as Bella did the same. As they walked past Morris’s table, his eyes never left the plate in front of him. Bella felt so alone—scared and alone. Then the earpiece crackled with life. “Go outside and around the back of the building. Lead him by the hand as though you can’t wait to get your hands on him. I’ll be there soon.”

  She giggled and trotted out of the restaurant, pulling her date behind her.

  “Hey, where are you going? My car is this way.”

  In spite of his reluctant words, Richard seemed willing to go along with her plans. If only she knew what those plans were.

  Once they had reached the back of the building, close to the rubbish bins, which she didn’t consider a very romantic spot, she leaned her back against the wall and used his tie to pull him close. She heard a stone being kicked and knew that Morris was watching them. Richard didn’t hear a thing, though. He was too busy mauling her and kissing her neck.

  “Make him suck your breasts,” Morris ordered.

  Several seconds passed before Bella complied with his wishes. First, she needed to push down the bile burning her throat. For the umpteenth time that evening, she questioned how she had found herself in such an untenable position.

  Morris’s patience got the better of him, and he repeated the order.

  “I want you to suck my breasts,” she told Richard. The dark surrounded them, but without hesitation, he slipped the dress off her shoulder and tore back her lacy bra to expose her milky flesh, which shone like a beacon in the night. Her first thought was that Richard would discover the wire she was wearing. Maybe Morris hadn’t thought of that. She held her breath as the man’s warm mouth sucked on her nipple. She wanted to cry out in pain when his teeth sunk into the tip.

  “Tell him how excited he makes you.”

  On the verge of tears, she ran a hand through Richard’s hair. “You really turn me on.”

  Richard’s head tilted to the side, and he looked up at her, releasing her nipple long enough to say, “I can tell. You have the body of a goddess.”

  “Giggle in response. Come on!” Morris urgency came through loud and clear.

  Bella giggled, and Richard’s mouth resumed sucking on her breast. This went on for a full two minutes more before Morris’s voice filled her ear again. “In your bag. Feel in your bag. Feel the coldness and take it out slowly. Do it discretely, so that he doesn’t notice.”

  With one hand, she opened her bag, while ruffling Richard’s hair with the other. She gulped when she located the object Morris had talked about. A knife. Her finger ran the length of the blade. She guessed it was at least eight inches long. She gasped when she reached the tip of the steel. Richard continued to suck and nip at her breast, thinking that her gasp meant he was driving her over the edge.

  “Take it out. Now, stab him. In the stomach. Do it.”

  How can I? I can’t see his stomach. He’s bent over in front of me. How can I stab someone, full stop? I can’t. Please don’t make me do it. She wanted to shout back at Morris.

  At her hesitation, Morris instructed her further, “Pull his head up and kiss him. Moan softly against his lips, like you do when I kiss you. Imagine that you’re kissing me. Once he’s caught up in the kiss, then thrust the knife in. Make sure you miss his ribs. Come on, think of what this will do for our relationship. You want us to be sp
ectacular together, don’t you?”

  Yes, she wanted that more than she wanted anything else. If killing someone was the only way to achieve that, then kill she must. Spurred on by the idea that the dirty deed would only take a minute to carry out, she withdrew the knife from her bag and pulled Richard’s head away from her breast and guided it up to her mouth. She kissed him as if she loved him, imagining Morris’s lips, instead of this stranger’s, were attached to hers.

  “Now! Do it now,” Morris demanded as she lost herself in the kiss.

  With a fierce jab, she aimed the knife. Immediately, Richard pushed away from her and stumbled backwards, his hands spread out over the wound in his stomach. Even in the dim light, she could see the blood staining his white shirt.

  “Attack. Sink the knife in again and again,” Morris ordered.

  Richard spun around to see where the voice had come from—he too, had heard Morris. While Richard was distracted by Morris stepping out of the shadows, Bella ran at him and plunged the knife in and out a number of times. Adrenaline assisted her actions.

  Morris stepped forward. Richard lunged at him, but before he could reach Morris, he collapsed onto the concrete. The last word he said before his life ended was, “Why?”

  Bella broke down in tears. Mixed feelings ran through her. On the one hand, she regretted her actions. On the other, when she’d sunk the knife into Richard for the third or fourth time, the power behind what she’d done consumed her—like nothing else on earth ever had.

  Morris supported her as they ran to his car. He buckled her seatbelt and hopped in behind the steering wheel. Leaning over, he gently wiped the tears from her cheeks and whispered, “You really do love me, don’t you? A deep meaningful love like ours will know no bounds. I assure you of that.”

  She looked down at her bloody hands, which shook uncontrollably, and nodded. “Take me home,” she murmured.

  “Of course. We can share a bath, and then I’ll show you how much I adore and love you.”