The Sleeping Serpent:

by Luna Saint Claire

  She didn’t have to say the bracelet was Ippolita. Being in fashion, the brand was well known to Luna.

  “Ooh…the blackened silver. It’s one of my favorites.”

  “Me, too!” Sofia exclaimed. “I’m just so surprised Nico knew what to get me.”

  Luna smiled, but she knew Erin Whelan’s agency had the Ippolita account—and pieces disappeared from photo shoots all the time. At least he had finally gotten something for Sofia!

  Glancing back at a picturesque scene of snow-covered mountains on her computer, Luna asked, “What are you guys doing for Christmas? We’re heading to Santa Fe.”

  “Oh, we’re going to stay in L.A. and relax,” Sofia said as casually as possible. “I just can’t handle airport hell this time of year.”

  Luna wasn’t surprised she covered for Nico. He’d complained to her that Sofia had been nagging him about going to New York for Christmas.

  With a tiny shrug of her shoulders, Sofia sighed, “But you know how Nico is.”

  Luna nodded sympathetically, uttering “Yeah…”

  “He’s always worried about his clients and afraid he’ll lose everything. I help him all the time—like the way you used to. But he expects me to do even more…and then berates me. It’s like he’s not even grateful for all the stuff I do for him.” Suddenly, as if she’d been holding back, Sofia’s eyes watered, as if the blue sky opened up and began pouring rain.

  “I know how much you’ve helped his career, Sofia. I’m sure he’s grateful…” Luna trailed off, thinking how demanding Nico could be.

  Choking up, Sofia revealed, “We had a huge fight. He asked me to make some calls for him and made me tell his clients I was his assistant! I was appalled! I’m a writer, not his hired help!”

  “Why would you need to call for him?”

  “He says it’s beneath him…he has more important things to do.”

  “That’s awful. It’s an excuse to cover up that he doesn’t know how to do things himself. Why don’t you tell him to hire an assistant?”

  “He won’t. Says he can’t afford it and he only trusts me. I’m afraid if I stop doing all this work for him, he’ll leave me too.”

  The word “too” ricocheted in Luna’s mind. She realized it was a reference to her marginalization by Nico after Sofia had replaced her in his life.

  “Sofia, Nico can’t be alone, he has huge abandonment issues. It must come from his childhood, being sent away by his mother. And now he’s lost her.”

  “There’s something else. But, please, you can never tell him that I told you this! He never offers to pay for anything. I invited him to stay with me…after all, we’re together. He pays for the studio, but he expects me to pay for everything else; says he’s saving for the new center. I feel like he just takes me for granted! He never asks how my day went, or about how I feel. Everything’s always about him!”

  With that, Sofia burst into tears, saying how much she loved him and couldn’t bear the thought of losing him—that she couldn’t see her life without him.

  Putting her arms around her, Luna consoled, “He’s very needy—are you sure you want to be with him? At the very least, I think you should talk to him about these things.”

  Nodding, Sofia grabbed a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. Even all smeared with eyeliner, they were like staring into a cloudless heaven. A light shone in them as she relayed, “Nico read me the poem you sent him—the one about when someone comes into your life for a reason. It’s very beautiful.”

  Luna was appalled he’d shared something she considered private, but Sofia seemed not to notice. “I know how you feel…how you miss him. And I just want to let you know that he loves you very much.”

  Luna didn’t know what to say in response to Sofia’s presumptuous declaration of Nico’s feelings. She’d believed she and Nico would remain best friends and taken for granted that the comfort and trust—the intimacy they shared—would be forever. But his work and Sofia had taken him away. Luna had found a poem on Pinterest that perfectly phrased her feelings and sent it to him. It began:

  When someone is in your life for a reason

  It is usually to meet a need you have expressed.

  She’d hesitated to bare her soul to him like that, but needed him to know how much he meant to her. Underneath the poem, she had added:

  You brought me joy…and you made me cry. You pushed me to my limits and taught me lifetime lessons. They say that love is blind, but friendship is clairvoyant.

  Nico had written back:

  I love you, and I’m always very close to you. Nothing has changed.

  It was a nice reply, but he still felt absent from her life.

  Sofia startled Luna out of her reverie. “I’m so grateful he has you in his life. It means so much to him, even if he doesn’t show it or make time for you. I insisted he accept the luncheon invitation for your birthday.”

  Luna had been quite certain Sofia wrapped the gift, but still hoped it had been Nico’s idea to accept her invitation. Still, even though Sofia had encouraged him, if he hadn’t wanted to, he wouldn’t have come.

  People were starting to move around in the hallway, and Sofia stood up to leave. “Luna, you’re the only one I can talk to about these things.” Taking out her cosmetic bag, she cleaned up her eye makeup and reapplied her red lipstick. Putting on her thousand watt smile, she tossed her blonde hair to one side, hugged Luna and kissed her cheek, then strode out in her Valentino studded heels.

  10

  Daylight poured into the room from the full wall of windows facing the ocean, waking Sofia. Looking over at Nico, she took in the enticing appearance of his tousled curls spilling onto the pillow and long black eyelashes resting on his high cheekbones. Rejoicing over the long-awaited Christmas hiatus, she decided to wake Nico by going down on him, hoping it would brighten his mood for the day. Pulling the sheets off him, she positioned herself and licked the head as if she were relishing a tasty ice cream cone, twirling her tongue all around the tip. Once his already semi-erect cock was glistening with saliva, she took it fully into her mouth and sucked on it. Quickly, he stirred, and Sofia smiled to herself, knowing Nico was now awake, just silently basking in the moment.

  Sofia enjoyed giving Nico blow jobs; she liked having control, and she felt she had some semblance of power when she blew him. Admiring his beautifully formed cock, she watched it grow to its enormous thick, full hard-on size, the head mushrooming and veins bulging with excitement. She often joked with him that he could have been a porn star.

  He raised his hips up to her welcoming mouth. She loved deep throating him, believing it would keep him close to her, though she’d had to refine her technique to allow for his length. She’d never been with a man as big as Nico before. At first, she wasn’t sure she could take all of him, but love found a way.

  Using her hand to firmly control him, she slid him in and out slowly, rubbing the ridge of his head with each thrust. She felt the familiar signal that he was about to come when his balls hardened and retracted from her touch just as he pushed his hips harder and jetted inside her mouth. Gazing up at him, she swallowed his sweet cum, showing her enjoyment by licking him clean.

  Now highly aroused herself, she urgently sat on his cock while he was still hard, taking him all the way inside. Moving her hips, she slid up and down, squeezing him tightly with her pussy. Leaning over, she kissed his full lips until they parted, allowing her tongue to slip inside. He awakened to her; but Nico never took very long to come alive again. Without warning, he abruptly rolled her over to take her from behind. “On your knees, you little Spyder,” he commanded gutturally.

  Digging his hands into her hips, he pumped her hard with his growing erection until he was rock hard again, then he suddenly pulled out of her pussy and slipped his fingers into her. Finding her already very wet, he swept his moistened fingers along her plump, pink folds, working his way around them until he reached her clit. Her throbbing bud, slick with her pussy juice, ached as he added p
ressure, increasing her feverish desire.

  “Oh God, Nico,” she panted frantically. “Put that big dick back inside me!”

  Instead, dipping his fingers back into her pussy to wet them again, he fingered around her puckered opening, sliding one very wet finger into the tight dark hole, then slowly adding a second, widening the entrance.

  Sofia groaned in lustful hunger as he rubbed the tip of his cock just inside her anus, coaxing it open, while his fingers deftly stroked her G-spot, milking it into submission.

  She growled in anguished ecstasy when he slowly worked himself deeper into her ass with his fingers wound around her hot spot—the juices flowing down into his hand. Her legs stiffened as the tight coil in her belly unraveled. Picking up the pace, Nico fucked her ass hard. At the sound of his balls slapping wildly against her pussy, Sofia cried out, “Oh God, yes! Fuck me!” Her body convulsed around him.

  Leaning over her back, Nico cupped her tits with his hands, pounding harder and faster, his breath becoming rapid and ragged. Unable to hold on, he erupted into her ass. Together, drenched in each other’s sweat, they collapsed on the bed, his body covering her.

  Resting her head in the crook of his arm, she lay silently, listening to his heartbeat, enjoying the quiet and a peacefully contented Nico for a few minutes. All too soon for Sofia, Nico popped up.

  “What’s for breakfast?” Looking at her still lying on the bed, he smacked her butt cheek hard. “Come on, woman. I don’t have all day!”

  “Ow!” She yelped, jumping up, unsure if the smack was meant to be playful. “What are you talking about? What are we doing today?”

  “What time is it? I’m going to be late!” He barked his next command, “Get the coffee going! What are you doing?”

  Rattled, she asked, “What are you talking about? This is our vacation! I thought we’d have lunch at that cute new place down the beach, since I don’t have to go to work.” She trailed Nico to the shower, trying to figure out what was going on.

  As if she already knew, he chastised, “I have a meeting.”

  Sofia didn’t know whether to be dismayed or furious. She did know this was one fight she couldn’t go near, because it involved his business, so she would only come off looking like she wasn’t supportive. Swallowing hard and taking a deep breath, she calmly replied, “Take your bike. I need the car.”

  Stepping out of the shower, Nico wrapped a towel around his waist and went to the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee. Annoyed, he called out, “Sofia, why didn’t you make coffee? I asked you to make coffee!”

  Scurrying to make a pot, she rationalized she wanted some, too.

  Nico barked at her the entire time. “You have to work with me, not against me. Erin has people she wants me to meet. I don’t have time to lounge around with you. This is for our future, remember? Do something useful, follow up with your editor friends and write me another article! I need more publicity.”

  When he reappeared in the kitchen doorway, she saw he was wearing faded black jeans that were so worn, she could see more than just the outline of his perfectly formed manhood against the zipper. He also wore a tight-fitting T-shirt underneath a crisp, white Diesel shirt with a black dragon embroidered on the shoulder—another gift from Erin. He fished for compliments. “How do I look? Is this dressed up enough for the meeting?”

  Though sad her day would be spent without him, she put on her best smile and kissed him. “You look dashing, Nico. Good luck with the meeting, you’ll do great.”

  Grabbing his black leather motorcycle jacket, gloves, and helmet, Nico kissed her on the forehead and strode out. Once Sofia heard the bike go down the drive, she threw herself on the bed and had a good cry.

  Through feeling sorry for herself, she decided to make the most of her day without Nico. Setting her priorities in order, she met a couple of her girlfriends in Beverly Hills for a mani-pedi and some shopping. Now, sitting with their feet in the bubbling blue water, they asked her where she had been hiding, and if she was still seeing that hot yoga instructor. Nico discouraged her from seeing her friends, dismissing them as frivolous and a waste of time. She sighed deeply when the woman doing her pedicure pressed her thumbs into the soles of her feet. Listening to the other women take turns bitching about their boyfriends, Sofia, feeling content in the company of her friends, decided against sharing any of her complaints about Nico. Instead, she boasted how he was becoming the celebrity guru and getting lots of press—giving herself praise for helping in that area. She beamed talking about him, and the girls tittered when she discreetly whispered about how good he was in bed, boldly sharing some details. Agreeing he was hotness personified, they cautioned her to enjoy him for the ride, but avoid getting too emotionally involved. Sofia wasn’t sure if they thought he wasn’t rich enough, too arrogant, or both. Regardless, it was much too late for that now.

  Walking to her car, she passed the David Yurman boutique on Rodeo Drive. Inexplicably, she felt compelled to go in and was immediately drawn to the black leather and silver bracelets. Admiring one particularly simple but striking design, she chose one for herself that would stack nicely with the Ippolita bangle he had given her for her birthday, then selected one for Nico and asked the salesman to engrave “Love, Spyder” on the inside of the closure. She was not going to win Nico by being bitchy or demanding, so she would have to win him with love.

  Erin Whelan stood at the head of the conference table, all eyes upon her. Her presentation was going perfectly. She had developed an innovative campaign and her hand-picked, well-paid team hadn’t let her down in the execution. She ended her presentation with a clever punch line, causing the room to erupt in applause that made you think you were at a TED Conference; and actually, Erin had spoken at several TED conferences over the years.

  Erin never competed with her product—whether it was the agency or her client’s brand. Today she wore a black Prada jewel neck dress and platform high heels. Just like her design sensibility, the dress was simple. A wide, knit headband held back her black, angular-cut hair, and her makeup consisted of only a soft peach lip gloss and a light application of eyeliner to highlight her distinctive grey eyes. Leaving her team to make social niceties with the client, Erin left the conference room quickly and headed straight to her office, where she grabbed her Céline black trapeze bag holding, among other things, her yoga clothes.

  An hour later, Erin pulled her black Jaguar into the Amaru lot on Ventura, parking far at the back. Before stepping out of the car, she checked her eye makeup. The liquid liner was cool, making her appear more youthful. She knew she didn’t look anywhere near her age, but Nico was twenty years younger, after all.

  Instead of calling out Nico’s name, she walked around to locate him. When she found him at his desk in the office, he looked up from his computer, studying her from under his long black eyelashes, and said, “Let me go lock the door.” When he returned, she said she’d change in his apartment. He smiled intriguingly at her. “What’s the hurry? Let’s have a cup of tea first.”

  Erin caught the drift and grinned. “That sounds just fine to me. I don’t have to be back at the office today.” Watching him make his special tea, she knew it had more to it than meets the eye, but was never able to discover exactly what, and Nico wouldn’t tell. He opened his supplement cabinet, and she watched him pull out a canister of loose leaves slightly larger than bay leaves. When the kettle whistled, he added the leaves to a teapot, then filled it with hot water. Taking a glass bottle down from the shelf, he removed a white capsule, and pulling it apart, poured the contents into the teapot.

  Taking their cups over to the sofa, Nico picked up his guitar and Erin kicked off her shoes, letting her bare feet push underneath his thigh to rub along his groin. He eyed her discerningly. “Why don’t you take that silly dress off?”

  Erin smirked and shook her head. “Nico, this is Prada.”

  He chuckled. “Prada. Whatever. It’s not sexy.”

  She teased, “You want sexy, mist
er?” Standing up, she reached around and pulled down the zipper, stepping out of the dress and tossing it on a nearby chair. She was wearing an Agent Provocateur black satin push-up bra and matching thong.

  Nico gave her an approving once over. “That’s much better. Come here.” She strutted over and stood in front of him. He set the guitar down gently on the floor. Kneeling in front of her, he slipped his fingers in her panties, finding her pussy. “I love that you don’t wax your pussy. It’s so natural, like the animal you are,” he growled.

  Closing her eyes to half-mast, she leaned forward, resting her hand on the back of the sofa. Purring from his fondling, she saw the outline of his erection inside his jeans, but before she could release it, he took her by the hand and led her to the bedroom. Watching him remove his T-shirt and jeans, she grinned, thinking it extremely hot he wasn’t wearing any shorts.

  Nico reached over to turn her around, then slid her panties off, bending her forward onto the bed to rub her ass. She yelped when he gave her a hard slap. “Ummm…that’s my little wolf,” Nico referenced the howling wolf tattoo on her shoulder blade. “Let me hear that again,” he murmured while gently fingering her asshole. Then he slapped her ass again, this time harder. She groaned.

  Gently massaging her ass cheek where he had spanked her, he slowly reached forward to fondle her tits, which were overflowing the cups of her bra. Reaching inside, he teased her nipples, grabbing onto one and squeezing hard. Moaning, she pushed her ass out at him, and he smacked it hard, making her yelp again. “Baby, I love that howl. You’re going to make me come before I even get inside you.” Placing the head of his cock on the entrance of her pussy, he worked the tip just inside her.

  She pleaded, “I’m just so wet for you, Nico. I need you inside me.”