“Would you like to order something, Raisa?” Lance asked, catching her scrutiny. “Everything on the menu is quite delicious.”
“No ... thank you,” Raisa said uncomfortably. “Maybe later.”
She sipped her Martini and tried to focus, her head already beginning to feel fuzzy. Like it or not, she was Lance’s captive as driving was no longer an option, but in reality, she had nowhere else to go. Perhaps the day could still be salvaged if she could get past Lance’s confrontational behavior. It was certainly no mystery why he was such a successful attorney. Like a shark, he could easily shred anyone’s defense.
Her phone buzzed softly from her purse. She reached over to retrieve it when Lance slammed his fist on the table, startling her.
“This is a phone-free zone,” Lance said. “Here we deal only with face to face, as uncomfortable as that may be.”
Raisa grabbed her purse and rose. She had been through enough the past few days and Lance’s presumptuous arrogance was more than she wanted or needed to deal with. Anger suffused her, but it was directed more toward herself than Lance. Once again she had placed herself in a vulnerable position, and once again she had fallen on her face like a clueless child.
“Thank you helping me, Lance,” she said, “but I don’t think there’s anything more left to discuss.”
“Sit down, Raisa.”
The silken steel of Lance’s voice pinioned her to the spot. Agitated, her face flushed from the Martini, she glanced around at the oblivious staff and patrons as if seeking help from a friendly face or concerned look, but no one seemed remotely interested in her little outburst.
“I said, sit down. Now.”
Raisa whirled around. “Who the hell are you to give me orders?” she cried. “You don’t own me. I don’t even know you!”
Lance stared appraisingly at her a moment before a taunting smile lifted his lips.
“Thank God,” he said. “I was wondering how long it was going to take to finally drag the butterfly out of her chrysalis.”
Raisa sank back into her chair. “Would you please tell me what’s going on, Lance?” She shook her head. “You keep talking in metaphors and all were doing is just going around in circles.”
“You’re the one making things difficult, Raisa. All I’ve been trying to do is get a simple answer to a simple five-word question. Tell me what you want.”
Raisa sighed, realizing that she either played the game or sat drinking Martinis until she ended up going home in a cab.
“I guess ... I thought things were going to be different when I moved here,” she finally said.
Lance leaned toward her as though finally hearing something of genuine interest.
“Go on.”
“My parents weren’t too happy about me relocating to the East coast. They thought I’d find a local job or at least something within a reasonable commute.”
“Let me guess,” Lance said. “They were afraid of the big bad wolf?”
Looking at Lance, Raisa could only wonder if he did indeed exist.
“It was the distance more than anything,” she continued. “We’ve always been a close family. They just weren’t happy about not seeing me very often. My younger brother graduates from college this year and he already has a job lined up in San Francisco.”
“So both chicks have flown the coop, so to speak.”
Raisa nodded. “If I tell them what happened ...” She let the words trail away.
For the first time, Lance smiled with genuine warmth.
“Love binds us in so many ways, doesn’t it?” he said. “Whether the shackles are silk, steel or rope, they restrain us just the same.”
“That’s an interesting way of putting it,” she said.
“That’s the only way to put it. If we stopped acting like shadow puppets and expressed ourselves truthfully, we wouldn’t have to deal with the consequences.”
He paused to take a sip of his drink. Raisa marveled at how unaffected he seemed by the alcohol that was now giving her a distinct buzz.
“So what do you want, Raisa?”
She hesitated, the words somehow difficult to express.
“I want to be free,” she said, “but I don’t quite know what that means.”
“Take your time. I’m not going to grade you on your answer.”
“I always wanted to travel,” Raisa continued. “When I was in high school I went on a class trip to Europe. It was one of the most exciting experiences of my life. I decided I wanted to pursue a career that was both creative but also offered a chance to travel.”
“What happened?”
“The economy happened,” she said after a brief pause. “My dad lost his job but managed to find another one, but parents told me if they were going to pay for my tuition, it had to be for a degree that I could use.”
“I see. And how did they define a ‘useful degree’?”
“Something that would enable me to find work regardless of the economy; something under the corporate umbrella.”
“As in the job you were just fired from?”
“I wasn’t fired,” Raisa bristled. “The entire department was laid off. The company’s moving to a smaller location.”
“Bullshit politically correct terminology,” Lance said. “You were fired. Let go. Laid off. Company downsized. All the same definition.”
Raisa could offer no response. However it was phrased, she was still out of a job.
“What do you parents do?”
Raisa hesitated. “Dad’s a financial manager. Mom’s a CPA.”
Lance grinned wolfishly. “What a surprise. And baby brother?”
“He’s going into architecture.”
“I give him points for creativity,” Lance said.
“What’s so creative about being an attorney?” Raisa challenged.
“Good question, Raisa,” Lance said, rolling the ‘R’ of her name. “Perhaps if you recall how I got the charges against you dropped this morning, you’ll understand that being a truly successful advocate involves creativity, psychology and a Shakespearean sense of drama.”
“You have an answer for everything, don’t you,” Raisa said.
Lance’s eyes twinkled. “Exactly my point. This is what I’m trying to teach you. Did you think that losing your job might have just opened the door to the opportunity you’ve been looking for?” He motioned toward the other members. “Take a look around you. Who do you think they are? People off the street, looking to have a quick drink before they rush like lemmings back to the office?”
“They look successful,” Raisa said, glancing around. “I can see by the way they’re dressed, and to be a member in a place like this can’t be cheap.” She faltered, disconcerted by the two young men at the far table openly kissing, their behavior eliciting no response from anyone but her.
Lance studied her mixed reaction. “Something else on your mind? Perhaps your own sexuality, which I’m willing to bet is about as vanilla as it gets?”
Raisa shook her head, noting that Lance’s shock value was beginning to lessen. Though she hated to admit it, perhaps there was some logic in what he said.
“You think you know me that well?” she asked. “You really are one of the most arrogant people I’ve ever met.”
Lance laughed heartily. “I take that as a compliment,” he said, taking a generous swig of his Martini. “Raisa with fire in her eyes, now that’s a sight to behold!”
He set his glass down, rose and pulled her to her feet. “Let’s continue this upstairs. We can be more comfortable there.”
Feeling the firm grip of his hand, Raisa hesitated. “Upstairs?”
“I live in the penthouse. I own this building, which has been in my family for two generations.”
A tiny voice protested deep inside her mind, but Raisa quashed it as Lance led her toward the elevator. Though she felt eyes following her, no one raised their head or even looked at them as they stepped into the mirrored interior.
Lance p
ressed an illuminated button indicating the penthouse. The elevator ascended slowly and quietly, the silence augmented by Lance’s proximity to Raisa. Standing against the mirrored wall, she tried not to squirm as she felt the heat emanate from his body. Sensing her reaction, Lance pressed himself closer until barely an inch separated them.
Raisa’s feeling of awkwardness was augmented even more by the way Lance merely stared at her, his arctic blue eyes drinking in the curves and valleys of her body. Raisa blushed, not only at the obvious desire in his eyes, but also at the sight of his huge, burgeoning hard-on.
The elevator pinged softly and juddered to a stop. As the door whispered open, Lance suddenly pressed Raisa against the mirrored wall and pinned her wrists high over her head. She gasped at the pressure of his body molding to hers. Kneeing her thighs apart, Lance ground his baton-like cock against her pussy.
“What are you doing?” Raisa said, uselessly squirming against him.
Her movements only spurred Lance to writhe more vigorously against her body, his rhythmic pumping eliciting a primal response in Raisa despite her attempts to quell it. Her eyes fluttered shut as her purse dropped from her hands, her breath erupting in panted gasps. Liquid heat coursed through her veins and from her core, she felt the dull ache of a slowly mounting orgasm.
A chaos of thoughts and emotions raged within her as her objective and subjective mind clashed. Here she was in an elevator being dry fucked by a man she had just met, yet her body offered no resistance to the intense pleasure sensitizing every inch of her hungry flesh. She felt a gush of wetness ooze from her pussy a moment before her body spasmed in shuddering release.
Lance abruptly released Raisa and stood back, his eyes never leaving her as she quickly unzipped his pants and released a huge cock that sprang toward Raisa like a fleshy club. She gawked at the thick, blue-veined shaft and engorged head dripping with pre-cum, and then at his pendulous balls dangling below.
Smiling, Lance extended his beautifully groomed hands, clasped Raisa’s head and pushed her trembling to her knees. She stared at his swollen meat for a moment before gripping the hot flesh of his cock and flicking her tongue against it, hesitantly at first, but then more aggressively as she ran her tongue back and forth along its quivering length.
Lance gasped and threw back his head, his fingers gripping and releasing Raisa’s hair. Trailing her tongue around the head of his cock, she lapped at the pearly drops of pre-cum before swallowing his cock to the hilt. She gagged for a moment before adjusting herself to his girth, and began vigorously licking and sucking his twitching flesh. One of her hands strayed to his swinging balls, which she gripped and caressed.
His taste was of sun-kissed flesh, his rock hardness completely filling her throat. Now and again she would pull his cock out of her mouth to reach over and suck his taut, shaven balls. Though one part of Raisa was aware of the animalistic creature she had become, she could not detach herself from the raw desire that had released a pent-up dam of emotions, frustration and need from her body.
Lance’s body tensed. Eyes tightly clenched, he uttered a feral cry resonating like the death throes of a slaughtered beast. His fingers clenched Raisa’s head so tightly she struggled to pull away before she choked on his violently jerking meat. She scrabbled to cup his cock in her hands and swallowed the sweet cream of his jetting cum, then gently suckled the purple head until she drained it dry.
Releasing Lance’s cock, Raisa collapsed against the mirrored wall while Lance stepped out of the elevator. She caught sight of a reflection she didn’t recognize; her mascara smeared eyes blinking beneath a mess of tangled hair, smeared lipstick, her clothes rumpled and disheveled.
Lance carefully watched her while he zipped up his pants. “So, did I get that pussy wet?” he asked, reaching toward her and pulling her to her feet.
Flushed and confused from what had just transpired, Raisa offered no resistance as he gripped her hand. Though she had had her share of sexual experiences, her somewhat conservative parents had not encouraged relationships, preferring that she establish her career first. They also held her brother to the same standard, but their attitudes had often caused conflict when dating issues arose and was certainly a factor when Raisa first announced her intention to work in a different city. They had argued, but had finally given in when she refused to reconsider her decision to move.
Now ... here ... in the wake of tasting the residue of Lance’s cum in her mouth, those debates and arguments seemed light years away.
Lance approached a pair of elaborately paneled bronze doors, input a code into an entry panel and guided Raisa into an even more opulently decorated Art Deco penthouse. Ceiling to floor windows offered panoramic views of the city and flooded the space with light, but none of the intrusive pulse of the streets. As Lance closed the doors behind them, Raisa felt as though she had stepped into another dimension, the world that she had known only a few hours ago relegated to a distant memory.
“Come and see what I see,” Lance said, bringing her to the windows.
Raisa’s heels clicked across a gorgeous geometric patterned marble floor interspersed with luxuriant rugs. Surrounded by such opulence, she felt as though she had traveled back in time to another, more elegant era.
Lance took her purse, removed her jacket and tossed both onto a nearby chair. Standing behind her, he clutched her shoulders and bent close to nuzzle her ear, then allowed his hands to sensually drift along her body. Raisa tensed, but Lance responded by caressing her more aggressively.
“Look out the window,” he said in a low, suggestive voice. “Let your mind wander and look with all your senses, not just your eyes. Try to look beyond the bricks and mortar of what appears to be reality.”
Raisa tried to focus, but her body tensed at his bold touch and powerful fingers that had unbuttoned her blouse and wormed their way around her taut, sensitized nipples. No man had ever touched her with such intimacy before, and certainly no stranger. Yet no man had ever elicited the conflicted feelings that surged from her like a geyser, either. She felt aroused, conflicted and guilty at the same time.
“Stop fighting me, Raisa,” he whispered, teasing her rigid nipples. “Can you feel the tension in your body? You’re like a coiled spring, a jack-in-the-box waiting to pop out. This is what they’ve done to you. This is how they’ve conditioned you like one of Pavlov’s dogs. Cast aside their indoctrination. Release these shackles.” He pressed his lips against her ear and flicked his tongue against her delicate lobe. “There are far more pleasurable shackles to bind you.”
Feeling her veins course with liquid fire, Raisa leaned against him as he unbuttoned her blouse and discarded it to the floor.
“Don’t move,” Lance said. “Just look outside and think about what you see ... what you really see.”
Through heavy eyes, Raisa stared at the windows of the surrounding buildings that watched her like socketless eyes. Some of the lower rooftops bore gardens or patios where employees or residents milled. Only light traffic was visible on the street below, but the sunlight-dappled trees were alive with birds tending to nests concealed by leaves shimmying in the breeze. Above, a jet contrail fanned a feathery trail against a clear sky sprinkled with cotton puff clouds.
“That’s better,” Lance said, unzipping her skirt and pulling it down along with her juice-drenched black lace thong.
His fingers lingered around the waistband before trailing toward the sodden crotch and gently pulling it aside to tickle her engorged pussy lips. Raisa flinched against him, her thighs tensing as he tweaked her button-hard clit.
“I didn’t say you could move,” Lance said, nipping her neck with his teeth.
Raisa winced, the sensation both pleasurable and painful.
“You move when I tell you to. Do you understand?”
She nodded.
“Now keep looking.”
Trembling, Raisa could barely concentrate on the view, her flesh tingling as Lance slipped off her skirt and thong. He pause
d to sniff the thong before he tossed it aside. Slowly, methodically, he caressed her ankles, then worked his way up, massaging her calves, knees, thighs, hips and finally her luscious, heart-shaped ass.
Raisa moaned at the feel of his hands firmly gripping her flesh, but a quick, sharp smack on her left cheek forced her to pay attention. Lance unhooked her lacy black bra and removed it, releasing her full breasts to the skillful ministrations of his hands. He alternately squeezed, pinched and gently slapped them, eliciting a jerk each time from Raisa.
Swallowing to ease the dryness in her throat, her eyes darted from building to building until they froze on the image of the black and Asian couple from the elevator apparently watching from an adjacent rooftop. She tensed, unsure whether they actually saw her and Lance or they just happened to be looking in that direction.
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