by Evelyn Hill
I open the door. “Hi.”
He’s standing there like a sad puppy holding my melting strawberry ice cream cone. He says, “It melted, I’m sorry. Are you sick? Your face is flushed.”
I say, “Thank you for holding the ice cream cone for me, and yes, I feel a little….” Fucked. But I didn’t say that. I just left it hanging. And I felt a twinge of guilt again.
“I’ll take you home, Angel.” He put an arm around me and we walk out of the dark hall. I glance back as we walk towards the door. Antonio is standing behind the bakery counter helping a couple with their order, but he is watching me. His face is flushed too, but his eyes are serious and inquisitive. I wonder what he’s thinking? It’s impossible to tell with him. I smile at him. And he gives me a gorgeous smile back. I mentally mark off Oral Orgasm on my list. And I have to say, I’m pretty sure I want more of it.
I wonder if there is anything Antonio can’t do.
Brom opens the door and I walk through it. He says, “Boy, that sure was weird.”
I don’t say anything back.
5
Brom drives me home to the cottage. He says, “The rose garden is beautiful.”
“Thanks. It was my grandmother’s.”
“I hadn’t realized you lived so close to the tower.”
I look at him. “Neither had I.”
“Beware of the Rose Beast, angel.”
I raise my eyebrow at him, and he glances away.
We sit in his truck for a moment, and I peck him on the cheek. He asks to see me again. And I hesitate. Antonio is the man my heart (and body!) is secretly intrigued with, but Brom is a sweet (and very hawt) and the man knows how to use his…
“Want your hammer?”
I cough and giggle at the same time, and he pats my back gently. “Okay?”
I nod. “Yeah. I mean, yes, I would like the hammer.” It’d been sitting between us the whole time. He hands it to me, and watches me run my finger from knob down the smooth handle.
The look on his face, the quiet between us as my fingers slips up and down against…you know it. IRIS SYNDROME.
I’m hot again.
I’m thinking of Nine Ways to Have an Orgasm. If only my dear sweet aunts were still alive I could ask them, what is wrong with me?
In my mind, I can hear my youngest aunt reply, Go the Rose Beast dungeon.
Brom puts his index finger over mine. He presses my finger against the knob of the hammer and rubs it slowly in a clockwork direction.
The wooden handle buries between my thighs with the pressure.
I breathe a little heavier and catch him glancing at my thighs, the fabric of my dress emphasizes them. He says, “I’d be happy to remind you how to use it. Anytime…”
I look at him and swallow. Hard. I nod.
He nods back. Licks his lips and says, “May I kiss you, Angel?”
I surprise myself by saying, “Yes.”
He leans over, both our hands still on the handle…rubbing. Our lips meet. And when his tongue slips inside my mouth, my body jumps as if it I’d felt an electric bolt.
My body is piping ready. It screams ORAL ORGASM. It screams IRIS SYNDROME.
The long wooden handle slips further between my thighs and rests against me. There. You know where.
Our fingers are still moving, pressing against the knob, and when he bites down on the very edge of my tongue, I practically scream in pleasure.
My thighs grasp the wooden handle and I grate against it, the same way my mouth, my tongue thrusts against his.
We both are breathing heavy and when I pull away, he is glancing me up and down, then up and down again and says, “What the devil just happened?”
Still breathing heavy, I start giggling. I giggle uncontrollably as if a ghost were tickling me. I throw my arms around his neck and say, “It’s just a simple kiss.” I peck him on the cheek and open the car door.
He says, “Don’t forget this, Angel.” He’s holding the hammer.
I take the handle and give him the sweetest smile I can muster. “Thank you.”
He gives me a puppy dog grin and nods. “Thank you. Don’t meet an angel every day.”
I step away from the truck, and he watches me up the walk. At the porch steps, I look back at him.
He waves. I wave back and he pulls his rig out into the street.
6
I watch him drive away and walk up the porch. When I pull on the screen door, it falls half out of the frame. “Damn!” I say and jump back.
But then I look at my hammer. I guess there’s more than one way to get a job done. Specifically, nine ways.
The door will be an easy fix.
I slip inside and head straight for the shower.
I turn on the hot water, letting the bathroom warm and steam as I step out of my dress. Needless to say, I am a little sore…you know where. And I am dying to let the hot water drench and relax my muscles.
My cell rings, I pick it up before thinking to check who it was.
“Eric?!?” I can’t hide my surprise.
The vision of the tall, blonde pirate man fills my mind’s eye along with the gorgeous illustrated tats. My body remembers riding him in the lake.
“Hi, yeah. Look, I need something and…you’re the only one who can help me?”
“Tell me,” I say.
As I listen, my heart begins beating wildly, and I can’t help but let a naughty grin take over my face. “Meet you at the tower at midnight? I’ll do it.”
After my shower, I don on a tank top and shorts. It’s dark outside, but I feel safe in the rose garden. I wander over to the lake and sit down in the cozy wicker chair, staring off into the woods on the other side of the lake.
I wonder how Eric knew of the tower? Perhaps everyone did except me. Had my aunts known of the tower? And if so, why had they never mentioned it.
As the thoughts fill my mind, I see a glint of green eyes in the woods. I stand immediately, heart racing.
Across from me, the giant wolf comes into focus. It dips its head and laps at the lake, then raises its snout and gazes at me.
I don’t feel threatened this time. I feel curious. I wish I was closer, so I could see it better.
I walk to the lake as the wolf intently watches me. I dip a toe into the water. Should I swim out there?
The wolf breaks the night in half with a sudden howl.
It frightens me.
I turn and run back to the cottage, slamming the door shut behind me and locking it.
I think of my aunts’ stories, and I know the Rose Beast is calling for me, and I know it’s only a matter of time before I answer.
Eric wants to meet me at the tower at midnight, but wouldn’t say why. I had immediately said yes, hoping he would give me more information about the Rose Beast, but the more I thought about it, the more uneasy I became. I don’t want to walk in the woods alone with the wolf out there, especially after seeing the furry beast at the edge of the lake.
Whether it is just a wolf or not, it scares me.
I text Eric again, asking if he would come by the cottage and we could walk out there together.
He doesn’t respond.
I could just skip it, and tell him tomorrow that I was afraid to walk in the woods. Any decent person would understand that, but what if…
Fine, I’ll be honest with you, I am curious…what if Eric is the Rose Beast? And if not, what if he knows him? At the very least, perhaps Eric knows of the Rose Beast’s Dungeon?
At 11:45, I made up my mind. I pull on yoga pants and a light blue hoodie. I pause and consider where I had seen a bottle of pepper spray. After a second, I walk to the other side of the kitchen and rummage through my grandmother’s junk drawer. Under a ball of rubber bands, I find what I’m looking for. I wonder if she had ever used it? It doesn’t matter, I needed protection and I think this will do the trick. I stash the pepper spray in the pouch of my hoodie, then grab a flashlight off the counter.
Outside, the clouds
part revealing most of full moon. I navigate the rose garden, appreciating its beauty even in the dark. I pause at the lake, stars sprinkle the midnight sky and reflect off the water giving the night a sense of magic and wonder. It erases the fear I had felt earlier and with a new sense of courage, I flip on the flashlight and begin to make my way around the lake towards the woods.
Also by Evelyn Hill
Rose Beast~A Big Bad Wolf Fairy Tale Series
Book 1: Wicked Red
Book 2: Into the Woods
Book 3: Dirty Kiss
Book 4: Dark Surrender
Book 5: Lust Dungeon