"Engaged," Lucent said.
I realized the flaw in this answer immediately, but I didn't say anything. Maybe it wouldn't matter? If we were engaged, where were our rings? If the man noticed, he said nothing. I was fairly certain that if we had a woman handling our rental, she would have said something about it, though. Perhaps this was our good luck finally catching up to us?
"Al-right..." He tapped a few more things into the computer. "Any specific type of car? Large, medium, small?"
"The standard size is fine," Lucent said. "We don't have a lot."
"Great. And how will you be paying for this today?"
Lucent offered him a credit card. The man flipped it over, inspecting it. Did it look fake? Honestly I didn't know what a fake credit card looked like. I supposed a good fake one looked the same as a real one. Was this even a fake one? I mean, not really. It worked, and it was a credit card; it was just our identifications that were false. I briefly wondered how far this "Max Hollowell" and "Josephine Dunst" ruse went. Did they have social security numbers? Entire histories? How did that work?
Whatever the man was looking for with the credit card, he seemed to find it. After swiping it through a card reader, he typed in the CVC, then handed Lucent a signature pad so he could sign his name.
Oh God. We had fake identification, but what about our signatures? I panicked, except it wasn't my signature he needed. How would I sign something, though? This was much more confusing and complicated than I first thought. Why was I worrying about a signature. I stared at Lucent, fascinated as he signed a perfect impression of what I thought Max Hollowell's signature would look like, complete with a large, stylized M.
"So, we've got a few choices here," the man said. "Let's go outside and check them out. Once you've decided, we'll just need to do a quick inspection, finalize a few more minor details like insurance, gas, mileage, and so on, then you can both be on your way. Where are you headed?"
I stopped, ears perking up. Hm... where were we headed? Lucent might lie, I supposed, but I wanted to know anyways.
"My family has a nice cabin by Lake August," Lucent said. "I thought I'd take Josey there for a couple of days."
"Oh!" I said. "Really? Is it in the woods?"
"There's a few houses nearby," Lucent said, eyes twinkling. "For the most part it's isolated, though. There's a dock right on the property, and if we're lucky maybe we can take a trip to view the lake."
Was he telling the truth? Because that sounded nice. But I really just didn't know if he was telling the truth. I didn't like this. I wanted to go to a house by a lake and take a trip in a boat. It sounded very nice and romantic. Could we take a picnic basket? Have a calm, relaxing lunch out in the middle of the lake while listening to birds and the lap of water against the side of the boat.
"Sounds like you'll both be having a nice time," the man said with a smile. "I think I know just the right car for you. It's only a short walk through the lot. Let's go take a look."
***
Apparently, a Mazda 6 is a very pretty car, but if you call it that, people laugh at you. It really did look pretty, though! They only had a deep crystal blue one available, but I loved it. The wheels were quite shiny and silver, too. Or the rims? My car was kind of a piece of junk and Lucent kept trying to get me to let him buy me a new one, but I liked my car.
My car was not a Mazda 6, though. I didn't think my car would ever be able to be that.
Also, it had, um... trip... er...
"What?" I asked after the man explained it to Lucent. Lucent seemed to know what it was, but they were both sort of ignoring me now, which I wasn't fond of.
"Triptonic transmission, Josey," Lucent said. "It means the car can be driven as an automatic, and also has a special manual transmission mode, as well. It can switch back and forth between the two."
"It's a lot easier than it sounds," the man said. "Sometimes it's called manumatic. If you've never driven a car like that before, it's easy to get the hang of. Driving it as a stick shift is easier than an actual manual transmission car, but you still get some of the same power and control."
I stared at them both, blinking. I didn't want to feel dumb, but I kind of felt dumb right now.
"I'll show you," Lucent said with a laugh. "It's not hard, I assure you."
"Alright," I said, deciding to take his word for it. "What about the back seat?"
Now they both stared at me, blinking. "What?" Lucent asked.
"It does have one," the man said.
"Yes, but how big is it?" I asked.
Maybe that wasn't a selling point to either of them, but it was a selling point to me. Mainly because if Lucent was fabricating that whole cabin by the lake story, and instead we needed to sleep in this car for awhile, or do whatever however this worked, I would prefer a large back seat. I supposed we could technically sleep in the car in whatever size seats, but I wanted to be able to potentially do things with Lucent that didn't involve sleeping, and I thought a large back seat would help.
"You're welcome to take a look?" the man said. He opened the driver's side door for me.
I stepped forward and bent down, then looked inside.
It wasn't exactly massive, but it was a good size. I felt sort of like a sexual deviant for having this as one of my points of consideration towards a car rental, but it was just my little secret, now wasn't it? No one else needed to know, or at least not yet.
"It's good," I said. "Quite spacious."
"Spacious," Lucent said, giving me a funny look. "Yes. Quite."
I stuck my tongue out at him. Once that was settled, and once we decided to choose this very pretty, deep crystal blue Mazda 6, Lucent's secret plans continued onwards and into motion. We got insurance, signed an agreement about gas, added a GPS to our rental, and then we were on our way.
***
Lucent drove in silence down the quiet country highway. The soft sounds of a sleeping Elise reclined slightly back in the passenger's side seat mixed well with the hushed tones of classical orchestra music playing through the car stereo system. He'd turned down the music once he'd noticed her sleeping, hoping to keep from disturbing her.
He understood why she would be tired, and he wanted to allow her to rest as much as she thought necessary. If he was being honest, Miss Elise Tanner was quite a napper, as well. Not all the time, and not extremely often, but she always surprised him with how easily and how awkwardly she could fall asleep. In some ways, she reminded him of a cat, which made him laugh.
The highway was quiet, with only one car driving behind them, none anywhere in sight driving on the other side of the road. Curious, Lucent spared a glance towards his slumbering lover, wondering how exactly she'd fallen asleep this time. Her neck lay tilted to the right, slightly downward, with her forehead nestled against the cool glass window. That wasn't entirely odd, no, but then she had a hand clutched to her chest, her fingers wrapped around the neck of her shirt, pulling. It looked almost like she wanted to pull it downwards and off. Lucent attempted not to stare, for safety's sake, but he caught more than an ample glimpse of the top of one of Elise's breasts, bared by her sleeping tug.
If he saw her like this while they were alone somewhere, not driving, with no need for precautions or safety, he thought he might like to help her remove her shirt entirely. Or pull it lower. Reveal the rest of her breast, and her bra. Slip his fingers beneath the cup of her undergarment so that he could tweak and squeeze and pull at her nipple. Awaken her with a kiss, and a tug.
Elise wasn't inherently sexual, or not quite. She was just... ready. He found that an apt way to explain her attitude towards sexual proclivities, at any rate. She was playful and flirty, cute and fun, sexy and erotic, beautiful and beguiling. She transformed easily, from one thing to another, and sometimes he didn't understand how she could do it. He could readily admit that he found it difficult, himself. She liked to say that he put on a front, or a facade, guarding himself from others, but he wasn't sure if that was it or not.
/> If it were up to him to put words to his attitude, his expressions and his demeanor, he'd prefer to say that the "facade" that Elise thought he put on was his regular personality, and everything else she saw was something she brought out in him. He lusted for her on a deeper level, one that he'd never experienced before meeting her. He wanted her in so many ways. He longed to hold her in his arms, to embrace her as his, and he wanted to display her on his bed, bind her wrists to the headboard and her ankles to the foot of the bedstead, splaying her apart, refusing to let her hide any part of herself.
He wanted to run his tongue from the tips of her toes, up her calf, to her knee, her thigh, the center of her body, lick at her labia and her clit, tease and tempt wetness from her arousal-slick slit, then further, to her stomach, the bottom of her breasts, up her curves, to her nipple, her shoulders, neck, further still, her chin, her lips, nose, forehead, the top of her head.
He wanted to kiss each of her fingertips, wanted to show her that every single part of her was special, that it was unique, that he wanted it, her body, her intelligence... her everything. He found all of her intoxicating and erotic in a different way. He wanted to tickle her, to watch her squirm in glee, then he wanted to arouse her, watch her writhe, see her muscles tighten, until she gave in to orgasm. Whether in laughter or ecstasy, he loved to watch the way her body wriggled and moved; preferably on his bed, but anywhere would do in a pinch.
He wanted to listen to her speak. To whisper. To tell him things. Elise was a rather curious person, though the definition of that assigned trait varied. Yes, she was curious in that she wanted to know more about the world, but she was also curiously strange and slightly peculiar. He found it odd and confusing at first when she referred to domination and submission as his "BDSM things" but the term was growing on him. She amused him on more than one occasion by asking him about something, asking if it was one of his BDSM things.
And then when he looked at her he could see that intrigued, almost curious glint in her eyes. It was a look that begged the question as to whether she might also be interested in this particular BDSM thing. It was a look that asked if Lucent knew much about it, and it was a look that wondered if maybe he might want to teach her about it through personal experience later, behind closed doors.
And he did. They did. He'd experienced so much with Elise. He'd done things with her that he'd done before, but when he performed them with her they took on a new, fresh light. They seemed wondrous and refreshing. She never acted according to a pre-ordained script, never did what she thought she should be doing. She never did any of that because she never knew what was considered "appropriate" or "acceptable" in these situations. She was herself, and she did what her body told her was right, gave in to her pleasure and allowed Lucent's steady, controlled hand to guide her.
All of this, yes, currently from the woman who was sleeping in the passenger seat of their rented car, tugging at her shirt collar, mouth slightly parted, with a tiny slip of drool inching down the right side of her lips, to her cheek, slowly towards her chin.
Lucent threw caution to the wind, removed one hand from the steering wheel, and lightly pressed his fingertips against her lips, brushing away the gathering wetness. Beside him, Elise stirred slightly. When he went to pull his hand away and return it to the wheel, she snatched it from him and held it tight to her chest.
Lucent laughed. "Awake, are we?"
"No," she said. "I'm sleeping still."
"Sleep as long as you wish, Miss Tanner," he said. "I have no qualms with that. Unfortunately I must request you give back my hand, though."
"Why?" she asked. "I like it."
"I'm sure you do, but I'd be remiss to put you in potential danger by allowing you to maintain control of it at the moment."
"Danger?" she asked, peeking open one eye. It seemed to suddenly dawn on her that they were driving. "Oh," she said. "Where are we?"
Reluctantly, she gave Lucent his hand back, though not before squeezing it tight. A loving squeeze, yes, but also a teasing, tempting one. She held his fingertips in hers, but she also pressed the palm of his hand tight against her breast. He decided it wouldn't do to let such a wonderful opportunity go to waste, so he gave her a squeeze of his own before bringing his hand back to the wheel.
***
I was having a wonderful dream, and it involved ice. Unfortunately the specifics eluded me, but I remembered one part of it very clearly. I was tied up, laying on a massage-type of table in one of Lucent's special rooms. He had a lot of special rooms, but this one was for BDSM things of a more particular, slippery nature. I didn't remember being tied, but he must have done it to keep me still because of the ice.
Obviously it was cold! I thrashed, trying to get away from his chilled, slippery touch, but he just stood above me, smiling down at me, guiding the cool piece of ice slowly along my body. Not for long, no, just for a few seconds at a time. The heat of my skin melted the ice, leaving a chill trail of water in its wake, and Lucent took advantage of that.
He swooped down, licking his own path directly on the one he'd just created with the frozen cube of ice. The heat of his tongue warmed my body against the chill of the ice, and I thought, oh, it would be wonderful if he continued to do that, but then, no, he didn't. He moved away, returning with the ice, back and forth like that, tormenting me and then teasing me, on my neck, lower, my breasts, oh God, my nipples... my stomach...
I awoke to the touch of his fingers caressing my lips just before his wayward slice of ice found the quivering hood of my clit. This really wouldn't do. I tried to fall back asleep, perhaps dreading the cold sensation of the ice but very much wanting to know the feel of Lucent's tongue and his lips, but unfortunately it was not to be.
Lucent tried to pull his hand away from me, but I took it from him, holding him tight to my chest. He'd woken me from a wonderful dream and I wasn't about to let him get away with it. I wondered if he had ice in the freezer? Did he do things like that? We'd played with wax a few times, and that was fun and I enjoyed it, but I'd never considered ice before. Maybe we could do that now?
"Awake, are we?" he asked.
"No," I said. "I'm sleeping still."
He laughed at that. "Sleep as long as you wish, Miss Tanner. I have no qualms with that. Unfortunately I must request you give back my hand, though."
"Why?" I asked. I didn't want to give back his hand. "I like it."
"I'm sure you do," he said. "But I'd be remiss to put you in potential danger by allowing you to maintain control of my hand."
"Danger?"
He said it so casually that I doubted we were in any real danger, but curiosity stirred at my thoughts, reminding me of something. Danger... which was...
I blinked open my eyes. This was not a bed, nor Lucent's apartment. Now that I thought about it more, I wasn't really laying down, either. I could have just fallen asleep on his couch. I did that sometimes when we were cuddling and watching a movie, and Lucent always laughed at me. I didn't mean to fall asleep! He was just very comfortable and I liked sleeping on him. Or against him. Anywhere with him, really.
On more than one occasion I'd wondered what it might be like to fall asleep with Lucent inside of me. If we were naked, he was erect, I was aroused, with me laying atop him, slipping his erection inside of me, us cuddling like that. I fully admitted that this sounded somewhat strange, and to be honest if we were like that I think I'd like to have sex, too, but a part of me thought it might be a comfortable way to sleep, as well.
Maybe I was a little strange, but I was fine with it.
Anyways, we weren't in Lucent's apartment, nor sitting on his couch, and after peeking one eye open I realized we were in a car, driving. Which...
"Oh," I said. "Where are we?"
I decided I should give Lucent his hand back, but not before holding it tight one more time. I touched my fingertips to his, seeing my smaller hands contrasting with his larger one, and then I squeezed his hand tight. In mine. And then against my brea
sts. Lucent acted naughtier still by taking my breast in his hand and palming it, squeezing it on his own, then returning to what was probably much safer driving.
I mean, I understood it in a way, but I kind of didn't think I'd complain all that much if he just decided to randomly grope me while we were driving, you know? Yes, yes, it wasn't safe, but... it seemed exciting.
I turned my eyes towards the crotch of his pants, becoming more curious, still. Curiouser and curiouser, Miss Tanner. I was like Alice, wondering just how far down the rabbit hole I would fall. What, I thought, would it be like to give Lucent a blowjob while he was driving? Was that a BDSM thing, or just a regular thing? I thought it was probably just a regular thing, unless, of course, he commanded me to do it.
Which I didn't think he'd do, because he was driving and Lucent took driving very seriously. This was good. And safe. I liked that he wanted to protect me, but I didn't know if I liked that this meant I probably couldn't give him a blowjob while we were driving. I was somewhat conflicted.
Lucent laughed. "You're not paying attention, are you?"
"What? No, of course I was."
"Were you?" he asked. "Where are we then, Miss Tanner?"
I glanced around, because there must be a sign or something telling me where we were, right? Except, no, there wasn't. We were driving on some small country highway, surrounded by woods on one side and a field on the other. I could see train tracks in the distance, following parallel alongside the road, and then further away were more trees.
Finding no sign in front of us, or to the sides, I did the obvious thing—or what I thought was obvious at the time—and turned around to look behind us. There was a car following behind us at a decent distance. Nothing peculiar, or not quite, except I randomly happened to look more closely at the driver, and...
"Lucent, we have to go," I said, urgent panic rushing through me. "Hurry, please. We... we need to leave. We need to go."
"What are you talking about?" he asked. "What's wrong?"
His Absolute Proposal: An Illicit Billionaire Love Story (Elise, #3) Page 10