Jacob looked at Erin. “Well, this is even more interesting than I expected.”
Erin winked at Nico, then addressed Jacob, “What would you like to do first, Jacob? When can you begin?”
Jacob replied excitedly, “Well, I’ll make a rough storyboard. Then let’s get together again to work up a production schedule and figure out when and where on the ceremonies. Sound good?”
Erin nodded, but both she and Jacob quickly noticed Nico seemed troubled. “What is it, Nico?” Erin inquired.
Nico looked serious. “We have to be careful about what we show in the ceremonies.”
Jacob quickly nodded. “That’s fine, Nico. You just tell me what’s OK and what isn’t. You guide me!”
Nico brightened. “OK. That’s good. As long as I have approval over the final film. I must be careful to respect my position.”
“Well, that all sounds good, then,” Jacob exhaled relief. “Give me about a week,” he added, turning to Erin. “I’ll get in touch with you when it’s all ready.”
Erin and Jacob exchanged good-byes, then Erin hung back to talk with Nico. When Jacob was out of earshot, she asked, “Are you excited about the film?”
Nico pushed his hands into his jeans pockets and looked down toward the floor, then up directly into her eyes. “It could be good. Or maybe not, Erin. You never know how it will look to others until it’s presented. You know this better than most people.”
She nodded in acknowledgment. “Well, let’s let Jacob do his thing. He’s creative and really has vision. I think he’ll do something interesting.” She eyed Nico before adding, “Why don’t you come over to my house. I’m only two minutes from here, and we can have a drink.”
“I’ll follow you.” Nico got on his bike and waited for the valet to get Erin’s car. When the black Jag arrived, he pulled out to follow her.
As they watched the last sliver of sun sink into the ocean, Erin’s Tamaskan dog, Blue, came out to say hello, poking his nose at Erin for attention. Normally, this was the time of day she would take him for a walk, but this evening she said, “Go on, Blue. Take yourself for a walk. Go be a good boy.”
Erin noticed Nico’s interest in her dog. “I usually bring Blue to work, but didn’t today because he wasn’t allowed in the hotel.” The main reason Erin had bought this house on Palisades Beach Road was that it was all open and glass, with a deck right on the beach. It didn’t matter to her that the house had cost her four million dollars, almost double what her accountant recommended she spend; she had every confidence her agency would be successful and she would have more money than she ever needed.
She kicked off her loafers, tucking her feet underneath herself as she contemplated Nico’s brooding. “Lighten up, Nico. Everything is possible. Isn’t that what you teach with Kundalini?”
“Yes. It is all possible—especially with your help,” he replied.
“I told you, when we get to Cannes, we’ll create more opportunities for you. We’re sure to win a Lion for the Armani campaign. You’ll see. People will recognize you.”
“What should I be doing?” he asked.
“Relax.” She rolled her eyes; she loved when Nico was vulnerable. Blue came panting up the steps and nosed Erin so she would get up and feed him. It was getting dark, and the temperature was dropping. “Come in the house,” Erin said, moving toward the kitchen. Nico followed her through the large sliding glass doors into the house, which was lit up against the dusky sky. The décor was monochromatic and neutral, in keeping with Erin’s style, with a natural stone fireplace.
When the dog was happily eating his dinner, Erin took Nico’s hand and led him into her bedroom. “What would you like to play, Nico?” she inquired, dimming the lights. The last glimmer of sunlight reflected off the sea to shine through the glass wall, and the crashing of waves was the only sound they could hear. Bringing a duffel bag out of the closet, she placed it before him on the bed. “Your toys, master,” she said submissively, with a slightly wicked smile.
Nico immediately got into character; he loved these dominance games with her. “Take off your clothes, but leave on your bra and panties. And put on those boots I like.”
Erin did as she was told. Unzipping the jumpsuit, she let it drop to the floor, where she kicked it away. She now stood wearing only a black bustier and thong. On the top of her left breast Nico saw her detailed, ink-black, fire-breathing dragon tattoo. Erin bent over to put on the high-heeled cage ankle boots that Nico liked. In the waning light, her Irish porcelain skin had a translucent glow contrasted by her shaggy-cut black hair. Her grey eyes gleamed, cool and piercing. She waited obediently for his next command.
Nico stripped the bed of all but the fitted sheet, then took a satin sash from the bag and lashed her wrists behind her back. Kneeling her on the bed, he handcuffed her ankles over the leather of the boots. “I don’t think it’s wise for you to have bruises on your ankles,” he winked.
She laughed in agreement. “Always thinking, Nico. How to play rough while being thoughtful at the same time!”
He took out a silk scarf to use as a gag, which was more for effect, but it would keep her from screaming, which might upset Blue. “So, Erin. Take a few breaths,” he spoke in a low, sexy tone. “And we begin.”
Erin breathed in deeply and exhaled. Nico positioned her face on the bed, keeping her ass high up in the air. Using the black leather cat-o’-nine-tails whip, he gently struck her ass a few times as a warm-up. Erin groaned lightly with pleasure, and Nico massaged her ass, then slapped her butt cheek with his hand. She let out a muffled yelp. Without warning, he lashed her again with the whip—one, two, three—each slightly harder than the one before. He paused, then struck harder. Erin groaned louder with the increasing strength of the whip. Nico tenderly petted her hair, brushing her lips with his thumb and caressing her cheek. Teasing her, he swept the tails lightly over her ass—then abruptly struck hard, eliciting more struggling and muffled cries.
He reached under and between her legs to slide his fingers inside the thong and feel her wetness. “Nice…you’re dripping,” he cooed.
The tails tickled as he trailed them slowly and softly over her butt cheeks. Without warning, he lashed her hard. This time she flinched. Rubbing her ass softly, he leaned over to kiss her shoulder on the wolf tattoo. “That’s my wolf baby,” he whispered. Pushing two fingers inside her wet pussy, he curled them over her G-spot, then trailed them up to the entrance of her anus and pressed over the rim until she moaned, pushing her ass further up to meet his hand.
She tried to look at him, but he pushed her back down. “Keep that ass up for me or you’ll be punished. I won’t let you come. So stay down for me.” With his pocketknife, he cut the sides of her thong, letting it fall away. Kneading her ass firmly with both hands, he inserted three fingers into her pussy while his thumb flirted with her anus. “I love your ass up in the air for me and your pussy so ready,” he murmured. Drawing wetness out of her pussy, he gently pressed deeper into her anus with his thumb. “Relax for me.”
She exhaled as he stretched her open, penetrating further. “Oh yes, that’s good,” he purred as he continued relentlessly massaging the walls of her pussy. “Oh yes, your pussy is so wet.”
Erin squirmed, grinding onto his hand. But when she lifted her head, he pulled his fingers out and slapped her ass. “Remember what I told you. I’ll punish you by not letting you come,” he reminded her.
Nico retrieved a bottle of oil, and pouring a liberal amount over her ass, worked some into her anus with his finger. “This is a perfect little butt hole, just begging to be filled.” Taking a butt plug from the bag, he slowly slid it in and out of her ass a few times to stretch her, while thrusting his fingers into her pussy. “That’s nice, Erin. Now ask me to let you come. What do you want, Erin? Ask me nicely.”
Despite her voice being muffled, he could clearly understand. “Please. I beg you. Please let me come.”
“That’s nice, Erin. OK, we’ll see about that.�
� After inserting the butt plug firmly inside her, he turned on a large vibrating dildo and played with her clit until she whined in tortured ecstasy. Tugging off his jeans, he liberally lubricated his granite-hard erection, and thoroughly entranced, gazed intently as he stroked the length of the shaft. Rubbing the tip over the mouth of her pussy he slowly put the head in, then pulled out, teasing the entrance as Erin’s moans became more desperate.
Then, holding her by the hips, he slammed his cock deep into her waiting pussy. Slowly he pulled back and slammed in again. Erin yelped and lifted her head. Nico slapped her hard. With the plug inside her she was super tight, her pussy gripping him deliciously. Delaying his gratification, he withdrew, and Erin groaned in frustration. Taking the vibrator, he rubbed it over her clit then slowly slid it into the mouth of her pussy. She was open, wet, and engorged. “I want to see you squirt,” he taunted, putting his fingers in deep to feel the ridges of the butt plug against his fingers with the buzz of the vibrator against her clit.
Panting hard like a dog, she was practically barking as she strained against the gag.
“Please…Nico…Please…”
Pushing the dildo hard into her, he then thrust it in and out slowly. “What do you say, little wolf?”
Whining, she pleaded, “May I come, please?”
Nico untied her wrists and pressed the vibrator into her hand. Clutching her hips, he pushed back into her and fucked her hard. Pressing the dildo against her clit, she came undone with one long moan, then shuddered and collapsed onto the bed. “What do you say?” he prodded.
“Thank you, Nico,” she moaned.
Gently, he rolled her over onto her back, leaning over to kiss the top of her head. He stroked her hair as he removed the gag from her mouth. “Shhhh, don’t speak,” he commanded. “We’re not done, are we?”
Erin shook her head. Nico released the cuffs from her ankles and spread her apart. Removing her bra, he dragged the cat tails over her chest, tickling her. He rubbed each nipple between his fingers, teasing them, then leaned down and sucked first one then the other, softly blowing on her nipples until she squirmed. Dragging the cat tails softly down between her breasts, he lightly swatted her pussy with them, causing her to buck slightly. “You like that, don’t you?” he asked sweetly.
Erin whispered her reply, “Yes, Nico.”
He swatted her pussy again, harder this time, while he fondled her breasts. Her back arched, reaching for his fingers as he pulled at her nipples. He purred, “Your dragon is breathing, Erin. I can see him breathing fire.”
She whispered, “He is hot for you, Nico.”
He slid his hands down her belly and rubbed her clit, again swatting her pussy with the cat tails. With each swat, Erin let out a small yelp and a moan.
“I’m going to fuck you hard, Erin. And you’re going to come for me again. Isn’t that right?”
Her only response was another ecstatic groan. Tugging her to the edge of the bed, he spread her knees so wide they practically touched the mattress on either side of her shoulders. With her pussy wide open for him, he placed his cock at the mouth, slowly letting the tip rub up and down over her clit, then slid into her. Moving slowly, he thrust in and out, relishing the feeling of the ridges of the butt plug and how tight it made her for him. Hearing her breathing quicken, he growled, “Don’t you dare come, or I will beat you. You’re not allowed to come, Erin. Remember! You ask me before you come, is that right? Answer me!”
Erin panted, “Yes, Nico. I will ask you.”
He fucked her hard and deep. He knew his hands were clasped so tightly around her hips they were going to leave imprints, but no one would see those. He could feel her contracting around him. “Are you ready to come again? So soon? That’s my girl. You’re nice and tight with that plug up your ass.” He kept up the teasing, “Do you want to come, Erin? Beg me!”
She whimpered, “Nico, may I come?”
“May I come, what?” he growled.
“May I please come, Nico?” she whimpered louder.
“OK. I’ll let you come…soon.” With his cock still inside her, he teased her clit with the vibrator. He could feel the buzzing, and began to move with her, pulling the vibrator away just as she was about to come. Waiting until her breathing slowed, he again placed the vibrator against her pussy until she was on the verge of exploding. And again he removed it before she came.
She whined, squealed, and begged, “Fuck me, Nico! Fuck me!” Gripping her thighs, he pulled her toward him, fucking her hard. He couldn’t hold back much longer, and he could feel her pussy contract, going all liquid as she crashed around him. Groaning loudly, Nico’s orgasm built until he erupted into her, thrusting in hard with each hot jet.
Taking a sip of her grande skim latte, Luna was reading the script for the next episode and enjoying the quiet of the early morning in her office when Sofia appeared at the door. “Luna, am I disturbing you?” her voice was a bit shaky.
Luna looked up and saw Sofia’s hair was in a ponytail instead of the usual loose, lush golden waterfall. But she still looked chic, in an artsy way that Luna admired, wearing black leggings, black washed silk tunic shirt and fabulous black boots. Luna smiled and waved her in.
Sitting down in the chair near Luna’s desk, she stammered, “I’m so sorry I keep bothering you, but you’re the only one I can talk to about him.” Luna nodded her understanding, and Sofia continued, “I just don’t know what to do, Luna. Nico keeps calling me here at work. He gets so mad at me when I don’t answer. You know I can’t talk. I’m in the room with the writers most of the time. Then he screams…says he’s more important than my job!” As she sputtered out this jumble of words and feelings, she began to tear up, shifting around in her chair as she went on, “Yesterday, when I finally called him back, explaining why I couldn’t answer earlier, he told me to fuck off and hung up.”
Luna was tentative; Nico would be furious with her if he knew she spoke with Sofia—but now Sofia was quietly crying, trying to hide her tears from Luna.
Luna sympathized. “I know… He does that to me too—as if I’m an appendage of his. I think he does it out of frustration. Still, there’s no excuse for that behavior.”
Dabbing at her eyes, Sofia went on, “He’s always yelling at me. It makes me so anxious! Now, Erin’s creative director is making a documentary about him, and Nico told me to write a description of ceremonies. First he warns me not to give too much information, then screams they need more information! He makes no sense. Then he calls me an idiot and a moron—blaming me!”
Luna commiserated, “You can’t let him talk to you that way, Sofia. That’s unacceptable. At times he’s called me names, too. I know he doesn’t mean it, but that’s verbal abuse, and I won’t allow it and neither should you.”
Sofia blinked back more tears. “I stayed up all night last night writing a description of the despacho ceremony, but now he says it’s too late, and I lost him the opportunity. I don’t believe that! I’m sure he’s exaggerating. Now he says I have to make it all up to him; that I damaged him and cost him business.”
Luna was getting uneasy listening to the chronic complaints, especially worried that Nico would find out they commiserated.
Sofia’s voice was shrill as she became increasingly agitated. “Oh, did I tell you? He dumped the contents of my handbag out, saying I stole a hundred dollars from him! A hundred dollars? You have to be joking! I’ve spent thousands on him! Why would I steal a hundred dollars? I swear, Luna, he’s just crazy!”
An awkwardly long silence followed before Luna asked, “Have you discussed Nico’s behavior with your parents?”
“Well, funny you should ask…my mom called me about my credit card. Like I told you, Nico asks me to pay for a lot of stuff. And I like to buy him presents, so with all that, the card was a lot higher than normal, and she questioned me. I was surprised she’d seen it, ’cause the bill goes to my dad’s office, and he never looks at it. At least I thought he didn’t. I think he may have
asked her to call me. I was trying to explain how I’m helping him for now, that there is so much going on with his business and it’s exploding—but he’s going to pay me back.”
“Did you tell her that he screams at you and calls you names?” Luna wondered just how much Sofia confessed, and what her parents would think, or do, about it.
“Just that he gets, you know, nervous. Of course I didn’t tell her about the wild car ride home from his dad’s house! That would’ve completely freaked her out. I just said he can be difficult at times—when he needs something. And that he calls me at work…and gets furious when I don’t answer, saying he’s more important than my job. Maybe I shouldn’t have told her all that, because she flipped out and told me to come home. I made her promise not to tell Daddy. He’d be so disappointed in me for allowing it…and for staying with Nico.”
“Well, I understand…moms are easier to talk to, right?”
“I’m very close with my father, but I’m afraid that he might do something. I don’t know…he’s connected to some pretty scary people.”
Seeing Sofia was getting more upset, Luna changed the subject and effused, “What are you wearing to the Awards dinner?”
At the thought of clothes, Sofia managed a half-hearted smile. “I don’t know…I was thinking of wearing a new Herve Leger. What are you wearing to the Costume Designers Guild Awards?”
“Well, you can certainly pull it off! I’m wearing Roberto Cavalli. Everyone will wear their jewels, and I’ll wear my turquoise and silver!”
Sofia contemplated, “I don’t know. Maybe I should go for something more sophisticated. Not as sexy as Leger.”
Luna nodded agreement. “It is a very prestigious award.”
Luna’s staff were trickling in, so they finished up, agreeing not to tell Nico they’d spoken or emailed about any of this. “He would go crazy for sure,” Sofia remarked as she left Luna’s office, hurrying to the writing room to take her place at the table.
The Sleeping Serpent: A woman's struggle to break an obsessive bond with her yoga master Page 21