by Logan Fox
Seth trembled too, his kiss growing unsteady and slow as his fingers began exploring her.
Pearl took full advantage of his lessened interest in her mouth; she whipped her head away, sucking in air. Her head bobbed forward as the man rammed into her again. Water cascaded in an icy sheet down her face. Pearl coughed, inhaling water. Her hands slipped over Seth’s shoulders, her nails scrabbling over his skin. They found a crevice between two bulging muscles and dug in.
Seth growled, the sound vibrating against Pearl’s breasts. Was she hurting him?
“Good or bad?” she whispered urgently into his ear.
Seth tightened his grip on her ass, buried his cock balls-deep inside her, and let out a groan.
“Good. It’s good, kitten.”
His lips found the side of her neck. He touched his teeth to her skin, making her throw her head back and sigh at the touch. Surprising how such a gentle touch could draw anything from her compared with the explicit friction sending throes of ecstasy through her less than three feet away.
He grunted, thrusting a last time, and then pinned her flush against the wall. Wrestling a hand free, he kept her supported in a single, cupped palm while his fingers worked their way around the curve of her ass.
Pearl stiffened. He was going the wrong way. There was nothing back there for him to—
“Relax,” came the bumblebee drone in her ear.
He shifted her weight, for a moment supporting her solely by crushing her against the wall. Warm water replaced numbing ice. Her fingers began to thaw. His skin, too.
Seth eased up on her, both hands supporting her again.
“Just relax, kitten.”
He kissed the side of her neck again. He’d changed the force of the water, too; it drizzled down on them now like warm summer rain. She let her head loll forward, resting it on his shoulder as he drew shivers over her neck with his teeth.
Still buried inside her, she could feel his blood pumping. Could feel her muscles straining around him, clinging to him as tightly as she clung to his broad shoulders. Her eyes fluttered open, fixing to the mass of tattoos inked over his back.
An upside-down crow.
Three upside-down skulls, framed with thorny roses.
More snakes, slithering between the different designs as if hunting prey through those artworks.
He drew out, paused, and began thrusting slowly and deliberately into her. Her teeth found his shoulder, closed over it, tightened. Seth drew a sharp breath, but kept that same, steady pace.
Again, his fingers began exploring.
Pearl shuddered as he drew a light circle around her backdoor.
His teeth found her ear. This brought another shiver. Rain pattered over the top of her head, slowly slicking her hair — now maroon and lackluster — into her face.
A flash of movement made her tilt her head up. A slick of yellow shifted on the far side of the room. Pearl’s stomach tightened. She tensed, her nails digging deeper.
Someone was watching.
Gia?
Dear God, let it be Gia.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Pearl tried to forget about that yellow smudge. The feel of eyes on her. She should be used to it by now. But this was different. This felt less and less like a performance and more and more like… what? A date?
She still had her fingernails in Seth, so she relaxed her grip and hugged him instead, her hands gripping her elbows, locking around him.
And, while he nuzzled at her neck, while his cock pulsed inside her, his thumb began stroking her backdoor. Every brush sent a new tremble through her. His pace slowed even more, as if he wanted her to feel the ministrations of his thumb more than the friction of his cock penetrating her.
“You have to start slow,” Seth droned into her ear. “And you have to be relaxed.”
She stopped biting him, resting her lips against his flesh.
He shifted her weight again, reaching for something unseen. Cool gel touched that circle of puckered flesh. She shivered, moaning when he began stroking her again.
“Lots of lube, kitten. This is Gia’s, but I’ll get you your own.”
His thrusting picked up pace. A warning. Pearl tensed. Seth’s lips slid over her cheek, finding her lips.
His kiss was gentle now. Slow. Soft. He massaged her lips with his, only the tip of his tongue touching hers.
She relaxed into it, her grip around his shoulders tightening. Water fell in a curtain around them, gentle as falling cherry blossoms on her skin. His thrusts became harder. The pressure he applied with his finger increased.
Their teeth clicked together. And, as if that had been a subconscious signal to them both, their fucking became frenzied again.
Her back thudded into the wall, jarring her. Seth’s breath hissed as he drew air through their kiss. As if fueling him, his thrusts came ferocious, driving her into the wall as if he was determined to fuck her through it.
She hung from his shoulders, hands numb where they clung to her elbows, barely holding on. His mouth was as demanding and intrusive as it had been when he’d first walked through the spray.
That forever stroking finger dipped inside her.
Pearl moaned loudly, the sound captured by Seth’s mouth. He groaned in response and forced himself even deeper inside her, until she ached with the pain of every hammering thrust, until she squirmed and writhed to escape.
The tip of his finger disappeared into her. Fierce tingles shot through her. Pearl wrapped her legs around Seth’s waist, gasping into his mouth as the new angle drove him deeper.
He was sliding that finger further into her, the friction teasing strands of glittering ecstasy through her. Her muscles tightened to the point of spasm, her thighs aching where she gripped his waist.
Seth worked his finger. Waves of pleasure crashed over her. She moaned, bucking her hips to meet his every thrust. He squeezed her ass hard, adding new bruises, more pleasure, and she tore her mouth away from his to cry out wordlessly.
He groaned loudly, squeezing her again. His finger thrust in and out of her backdoor, synchronized with his cock.
It was too intense; Pearl’s mind shattered, every thought and feeling splintering into a myriad slices. Sharp as glass. Dark as tar. Reflecting the shape of every other piece in an infinite mirror of piercing angles.
Seth came into her with a deep-throated growl. He crushed her to the wall, jarring her with the sudden impact. He caught her lip again, panting into her mouth a word she couldn’t comprehend.
Having paused in the moment of his orgasm, that finger began working again, sliding in and out of her as if compensating for the lack of friction at her sex. Pearl groaned, her mouth falling open as a climax closed over her.
Seth thrust into her again, ending her violently, suddenly.
That finger speared all the way inside her. She gasped, flailing like a hooked fish at the end of a dripping, shimmering line, tail throwing out sparks of water as she died and was reborn in an instant.
Reality washed over her, seeming indifferent to her panting. The quivering.
He slid his finger out of her, drawing a last, full-body shudder from her.
Finally, his lips abandoned her.
And after a final, numbing thrust, he dragged his dick out of her.
Her feet slid to the floor. It felt spongy, uneven. She swooned against him, her cheek pressed to his beard.
He held her for an eternity, an arm slung around her waist, keeping her body flush against his.
Then, just when the patter of water threatened to send her into a coma, he spoke.
“You can’t be late, kitten. Turn around so I can wash your hair.”
Pearl stumbled around in a tight circle, her feet trampling over each other. Seth reached for the soap, and Pearl averted her eyes as he washed his hands with deliberate care. Seconds later, her eyes fluttered closed as he began shampooing her hair. It was delicious, but too short. He took her unresisting wrists and pressed them to the wall.
; Was he going to fuck her again? Her body trembled. She had no strength left in her. He couldn’t—
His hands slid over her skin, too slippery. Soap. He was washing her. Washing his dirty little kitten.
Pearl’s head hung limply between her upraised arms, freshly conditioned hair slick against her cheeks.
He was thorough. Quick but fastidious.
And, when he was finished, he drew her back into the rain shower and rinsed off the soap.
Seth was busy drying her hair with a towel when she found her voice. It was husky, unsteady.
“Wh…ere am I… going?”
“Upstairs. Tanner.” There was a twist to his mouth, but Seth’s eyes stayed fixed on his task, his hands massaging the towel over her scalp.
“Tanner?” Her thighs complained at the thought of stairs. The rest of her body at the thought of Tanner. “Fuck.”
“It’ll be okay. You’ll do fine, kitten,” said the man who’d just eviscerated her against the shower wall.
She didn’t have any energy. Her body was limp and unresponsive, dancing from Seth’s hands like a rag doll as he dried her off.
“Now go get dressed.” There was a moment’s hesitation, a tightening of his mouth, before he added, “Dress. No underwear.”
Pearl gazed up at him wordlessly, and then shuffled away, trying to draw a breath deep enough to spark some energy back into herself.
She couldn’t.
11
Of Mermaids & Men
Seth made her drink a cup of espresso. It was too bitter, too hot, but it had the benefit of perking her up to normal, functioning Pearl standards. Which was surprising, because she’d thought the only thing that would have worked for that would have been sleeping for a week.
He led her upstairs, past Caden’s floor, and escorted her to Tanner’s door. There, he paused — black keycard hovering a foot away from the door panel.
“Don’t do anything to piss him off, Pearl.” Seth’s voice was low rumble. “Just play the part, okay? You done good up till now; don’t fuck it up.”
“What’ll happen if I do?” Her own voice sounded like something that should be coming out of a half-decomposed zombie. “Will he fuck me harder?”
“He’s not—” Seth broke off, swiped the card against the panel, and pushed the door open.
He stepped aside, letting her in ahead of him.
Her eyes found the dark shape of a black-suited bodyguard. He even wore shades, just like in the movies. The man stood with his back to a wall, as if he’d ever have a chance of blending into the lavish wallpaper.
She could have told him not to bother. If she’d cared enough. But she didn’t. She just wanted this to end. Wanted to get back to her room and sleep. Maybe not for a week; she’d have to get up every second day for snack and bathroom breaks, of course.
Her lip strummed flickers of tingling into her mouth — Seth had almost torn the skin with his teeth. She had a bruise on one of her shoulder blades. And her legs?
Tanner’s apartment was as spacious as the rest of the villa. The front door opened into a wide hallway, three archways leading off the left, right, and center wall. Pearl could see all the way through to the sitting room, straight ahead. From what she could remember of her last visit here, the left archway led to a large living room, and the right was an entertainment room with a pool table and another archway that led deeper into the apartment.
Suzie appeared in the sitting room, pausing when she saw Pearl. The girl’s face flickered for a moment, as if caught between smiling and frowning, and then she came forward, glancing at the bodyguard as she passed.
A hand closed over Pearl’s shoulder, squeezing her.
Pearl swung her head around, giving Seth a pleading, wide-eyed stare as the man took a step back.
“Gotta go, kitten. I’ll be back for you later. When… Tanner’s done.”
She waited for him to smile at her. For the slightest indication that he felt guilty or uneasy leaving her here. Now. After what they’d just—
But Seth was just Seth again. Those black eyes revealed nothing.
The door closed silently behind him. When Pearl turned back, Suzie stood a few feet in front of her, green eyes wide and curious.
“Now what?” Pearl asked, hating the way her voice trembled.
Instead of answering, Suzie flicked a hand at Pearl and walked away.
After a moment, Pearl followed.
Why Seth had told her to wear the dress, Pearl didn’t know. He might as well have left her wrapped in the towel and delivered her, fresh and still damp, to Tanner’s room.
Suzie led her through a dizzying maze of archways and rooms, each sectioned off so only one other room could be seen at any time, until they arrived in Tanner’s bedroom. She froze up as they stepped over the threshold, deja-vu slamming into her with disorientating intensity.
The girl looked back. “Hurry. You’re already late.”
“For what?”
The room was empty. The bed — something a few sizes larger than a king size — was unmade. Several articles of clothing lay scattered on the plush, russet carpet. The curtains were still drawn, the room gloomy and riddled with black shadows.
Pearl tripped over a sneaker, barely catching herself against the foot of the bed. The satin covers didn’t offer much grip, so she ended up on her knees anyway, wincing as the fall jarred her aching muscles.
“Mind his shoes,” Suzie said as she disappeared through a midnight doorway. “He leaves them everywhere.”
“Thanks,” Pearl muttered, tossing her hair from her face. She clambered up, tugged her dress straight with a scowl, and went after the girl.
Light flared. Pearl blinked, running her eyes over row upon row of clothing. The walk in closet was almost as wide and deep as the room outside.
Who knew a man could have so many clothes? So many pairs of shoes?
It looked like a department store in here. Granted, one of those tiny, really expensive stores — with a name you’d never heard of but had a feeling you should have — displaying a pair of faceless grey mannequins in its narrow window.
Suzie moved through the closet — did you still call something as large as Pearl’s apartment a closet? — like an arrow.
At the back, a set of closed doors.
The interior of this vast room had been furnished in light, bright wood and pale carpeting. But these doors were a dark, thick wood. The doors had been carved — another forest scene, complete with hunting foxes — and lacquered until they shone.
Suzie tugged the doors open.
Pearl took an unsteady step back.
Costumes. Leather. Fur. Lycra.
Loops of red rope; a wolf’s webbing. Gags and flails and whips and a dozen things she couldn’t have named if someone had put a gun to her head. Well, she would have tried, given those circumstances, but she’d probably have been wrong.
Suzie slid a few hangers aside, seeming completely unfazed with the array of debauchery she had at her fingertips. She tugged out something dark.
Pearl closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and forced one eye open.
Her other eye slowly opened. She stared at Suzie for a moment, and then back at the thing hanging from the hanger.
“You’re kidding, right?”
Pearl glowered at her reflection. Despite Suzie’s enthusiastic nodding, she had an almost overwhelming urge to tear the thing off her and run from the room, guard or no.
“So… one more time. Just so I know I didn’t hit my head somewhere along the line—” when Seth was fucking her, maybe? “—and this is all some fucked up coma-dream.”
“It looks good on you. Really.”
“It would look good on something with tentacles.” Pearl twisted, glaring at the French maid outfit Suzie had squeezed her into. “As long as that thing was a size zero.”
“It’s the largest—”
“Yes, I heard you the first time.” Pearl tugged at the dress’s hem. This completely failed t
o make it longer. The stiff tulle beneath the dress’s skirt made the skirt fluff out. If she bent over, she’d look like a duck ruffling its feathers.
“So where’s my, you know—” Pearl wiggled her wrist in the air “—feather duster.”
Suzie laughed, cutting the sound short when Pearl didn’t join in. The girl shrugged.
“You don’t actually have to clean.”
“Yup. I gathered that by the impractical length of this thing’s skirt and the amount of cleavage I’m showing. But I thought I had to pretend to dust something while he fucked me. You know: getting into the spirit of it and all that shit.”
Suzie blushed. The girl actually blushed.
“I don’t know about that. He has a guest coming over for lunch. I think you just have to… serve them.”
“Serve them,” Pearl repeated dryly. “What, under the table? Is this during main course or dessert?” Pearl let out a harsh laugh. “What, both? My God, where will I find enough saliva?”
Suzie shrugged uncomfortably. “I don’t know—”
Pearl cut her off with a raised hand. “Whatever. I’m beyond the point of caring.” She flicked her hand toward the door. “Go on.”
Suzie cast her an uneasy, lingering stare and then led her out through Tanner’s room.
Someone had opened the curtains. And they’d removed several pairs of shoes previously scattered on the floor. Pearl glanced around, ducking her head to peek behind the bed, in case a servant hid there.
No one.
Suzie beckoned her, and Pearl followed with a frustrated frown.
The strawberry blond girl put her in a corner in the dining room, beside the arched entryway. Pearl shifted uncomfortably. It wasn’t the sleek black stilettos she wore that made her feet ache — she wanted out of here. Now.
Hazy memories came to her.
Tanner giving her shot glass after shot glass. The oily sting of the tequila. The balcony: his hands exploring her, his dick hard for her.
And then… nothing. Nothing until the labyrinth. Until that overheard call that made her wonder if she was losing her sanity. Made her realize she’d put herself in a hornet’s nest — and she was deathly allergic.