by Alexis Davie
“That sounds wonderful,” she purred, putting her hand on his arm.
Gary looked like he might burst with excitement, signaling Sam for the bill, and Kellie avoided looking at him, mostly aware of what he was probably thinking.
Why do you care what he thinks? she scolded herself.
She pushed the idea of Sam out of her head and focussed on Gary as she finished the rest of her first drink with a straw.
I may not get to yell at my father right now, Kellie thought, but I’ll get my frustrations out one way or another.
* * *
Gary led the way up to his suite on the fourteenth floor, and Kellie’s finally devised the perfect plan to deal with the man.
“Right this way, sweetie,” he cooed, and Kellie tried not to sneer at him. His endearments were getting under her skin, but she said nothing as she entered the room, casually looking around the suite. “Let me get you a drink.”
Kellie shook her head, coyly cocking her chin to the side.
“I would rather move into the bedroom,” she replied sweetly.
Gary’s eyes seemed to glow, and he nodded eagerly. “Oh, yes,” he said. “How much?”
“What?” she asked, laughing. “How much for what?”
“For an hour? I want full service.”
Kellie froze, and her lips parted as she realized what he thought about her. Fury boiled her blood. Suddenly, Sam’s apprehension became clear.
He thinks I’m a hooker, she thought, rage mounting inside her.
“Let’s talk price later,” she answered, walking into the bedroom. Gary hurried after her like a puppy, and Kellie began stripping the sheets from the bed.
“What are you doing?” he asked, licking his lips.
Kellie playfully shook her head.
“You’ll see,” she answered. She pointed at the mattress, now bare except for the top sheet. “Lie down,” she ordered, her voice taking on a firmer tone.
Understanding slowly lit up Gary’s eyes, and Kellie watched as he grew sweaty with excitement.
“Yes, ma’am!” he said, jumping onto the bed.
“Strip,” she demanded. Her cold gaze studied him until he began to obey.
As he fumbled with his shirt and shoes, Kellie reached for the linens discarded on the floor. Gary sat in his boxers, but she shook her dark hair.
“What does the word ‘strip’ mean?” she snapped. “Naked!”
Eagerly, Gary slid his underwear off.
“Good boy,” Kellie murmured coldly. “Very good.”
“Your turn!” Gary called, but Kellie ignored him, approaching the unsuspecting fool.
“On your belly,” she growled, and Gary stared at her uncomprehendingly.
“What?” he asked, amusement and uncertainty coloring his irises.
“You heard me!” she yelled.
To her pleasure, Gary jumped. He did not protest, flipping onto his stomach, white rear exposed.
Kellie grinned. Now the fun is starting, she thought. Without warning, she straddled him, knocking him flat.
“What are you—?”
“Shut up!”
Her words were like whiplash as she began to bind him with the bed sheet, relishing his clueless excitement. In seconds, he would be helpless and unable to move, precisely where she wanted him.
Gary was almost quivering when she finished, expecting to receive the service he was planning to pay for, but Kellie simply rose, leaving him on the bed.
“What are you going to do next?” he squeaked, and Kellie snorted.
“I’m going back to the bar to finish my drinks,” she retorted. “Next time, you should at least give the girl the benefit of the doubt before you assume she’s a prostitute. And after this, I think you should go home and apologize to your wife.”
Gary struggled to look behind him as Kellie snatched up her purse, ready to leave. It had given her a mild satisfaction, but she was still angry both with Gary and her father.
Kellie eyed the lecherous pig on the bed. It was the best she could do with what she had. She was sure the ties would hold long enough for Gary to think about what he had done. Perhaps it would even make him think twice about propositioning girls half his age at hotel bars.
“Wait a second!” Gary screamed. “You can’t leave me here!”
“I’m sure housekeeping will find you soon enough,” she replied flippantly. “You won’t starve to death.”
Kellie turned around to walk out of the suite, but as she did, she heard a crash.
Gary had thrown himself onto the floor of the bedroom, still bound.
“Untie me!” he howled. “Right now!”
“Or what?” she jeered. “You’re gonna tell your wife on me?”
Gary seemed to freeze from his spot on the floor. He glared up at her, as if he could kill her with his eyes.
Kellie continued on her way to the door. Before she could get out of the suite, Gary released a shriek of frustration so loud, it made Kellie’s skin prickle.
She began to turn around. “Stop being so melodramatic—”
Another crash from the other room interrupted her sentence, and Kellie felt like she had turned to stone.
“Hello?” she called, cautiously walking into the sitting area.
“Help me!” Gary screeched. “I’m being held prisoner!”
Kellie turned around the corner, her heart freezing inside her chest.
The door to the entrance had been knocked open, and looming inside the front was a massive beast, one that Kellie had never seen outside of fairy tale books before: a dragon.
She gasped and stepped backward as the creature breathed heavily, its grey eyes boring into her as smoke emitted in short puffs through its snout.
Slowly, the dragon drew closer, a massive tail wrapping around its body. The creature poked its head into the bedroom, leaving an opportunity for Kellie to run.
She did.
Kellie flew out of the suite and toward the stairwell, lest she take the elevator and risk the animal trapping her. She ran as fast as her legs could take her, but even as she climbed down the stairs, she could sense the beast on her trail.
Don’t look back! she told herself. Keep going!
“Jennifer!” a voice screamed. “Jennifer, wait!”
Hearing her fake name made her want to turn around. The voice was definitely not Gary’s, but who else could it be?
Actually… there was only one other person who could have heard her introduce herself as “Jennifer.”
“Wait!” the voice yelled again, and despite her better judgement, Kellie spun to address the man calling out to her.
“Sam!” she gasped, looking behind him. “T-There’s a beast, there’s a—”
“A dragon?” he asked dryly, and Kellie’s jaw went slack.
“Did you see it?” she whispered, her brown eyes wide.
Instead of answering her, Sam jumped down the stairs separating them, pausing before her. His lips parted, though no words came out immediately.
“What’s going on?” Kellie demanded. “What are you doing here?”
Sam did not answer, but the longer Kellie stared at his eyes, the more familiarity she found in them. Goosebumps covered her arms as she realized that Sam’s eyes were the same as the dragon’s.
“I followed you,” Sam finally said. “I wanted to ensure you were safe.”
Kellie stared at him, her mind unable to comprehend the truth of his explanation.
“You followed me?” she echoed.
Sam nodded and lowered his gaze.
He is the dragon, Kellie thought, wondering why that realization didn’t scare her now that he was so close to her. He wasn’t going to hurt me. He was trying to protect me from Gary.
“Gary is a deviant,” Sam said after a moment. “He hangs out at the bar and waits for working girls to come in. The younger, the better. I knew you weren’t one, and I tried to warn you…” He made a small pause. “When I heard the scream, I thought he was doing
something to you, and I couldn’t stop myself from breaking through the door.”
A rush of affection filled Kellie as she studied his worried face, but she didn’t speak.
Sam smiled at her. “But I can see that you can handle yourself just fine.”
Kellie looked up at him, a slow smile forming on her lips as she remembered how she had left Gary, and Sam’s own smile turned into a grin.
Kellie abruptly lunged toward him, pinning him to the wall. Her kiss was meant to be of gratitude, but when their lips touched, Kellie’s skin felt as if it was on fire.
Their tongues met, and Kellie moved to grab Sam’s arms, enforcing her hold against him. He was faster than her, spinning their bodies until he was the one with her wrists secured up against the tile of the wall.
Sam’s mouth grew hotter against hers.
Will he burn me? Kellie wondered, and the idea aroused her. Daringly, she bit on his lower lip, urging him to grip her more tightly. Sam’s teeth nipped at her tongue, and Kellie felt a gush of warmth spread through her body, soaking the panties beneath her skirt. She allowed him to take control, his lips falling against her throat, one hand holding her wrists as the other undid his pants.
The awareness that they could be caught only added to Kellie’s desire, and she felt her knees grow weak as Sam’s fingers found their way between her thighs. She desperately wanted to feel his hardness against her, but his hand began to explore the eager core of her middle, his breaths growing faster as hers did the same.
Sam slipped two fingers inside her, his thumb toying with her other opening, and Kellie moaned loudly. She felt as if he was suspending her, that if he was to drop his grip on her hands, she would collapse into a trembling mass on the floor. But he showed no signs of releasing her, and as his digits worked faster inside her, Kellie cried out, knowing she was going to climax.
Biting on her lower lip, Sam’s mouth pressed hotly against her throat, Kellie shuddered, a flow of undulating passion erupting from between her legs.
“Good,” Sam murmured, pulling his lips away from her tingling flesh. “Very good.”
Kellie did not have time to recover from her orgasm as she was spun again, her back to him as he pushed her waist up to the railing. Her buttocks exposed, Sam slapped her cheek before spreading her wide, the sensation jolting through her body like lightning.
Kellie gasped, feeling his thick head prodding against her waiting sex.
When he entered her, Kellie’s breath caught, and her body was folded over the rail of the staircase. Sam’s hand snaked around to rub her swollen, pulsating clit, his free hand caressing her breast. Sam filled her, deep and deliberately. Kellie mewled in response, and could feel herself ready to release again as he grew more forceful with his thrusts.
“C’mon,” he ordered. “C’mon—”
As if his words were her command, Kellie obeyed, releasing as his sack slapped against her. They groaned simultaneously, and Kellie felt his orgasm inside her, his fingers closing roughly around her breast as he climaxed.
She was sure she was going to fall when he pulled out of her, but Sam did not let go of his hold on her, keeping her steady as she turned to look at him.
“Wow,” she muttered.
Sam laughed, reaching to pull up his pants.
“I was going to say the same thing,” he replied lightly, helping her to stand up straight.
Slowly, Kellie began to collect herself, eyeing him with begrudging respect.
What is he? Who is he? she wondered.
Logically, she knew what she had seen could not be true, but she also knew she had not imagined anything: Sam was part man, part mythical beast.
She looked away, knowing that Sam was staring at her still.
“I’m sorry I underestimated you,” Sam offered.
Kellie shook her head.
“Thank you for watching out for me,” she murmured. “I don’t think anyone else has ever felt the need to protect me before.”
He chuckled wryly.
“I have a feeling Gary won’t be trolling hotel bars anytime soon.”
“Did he see you…” Kellie faltered, looking for the right words to speak. “I mean, when you were… you know?”
Sam’s smile widened. “Yes. And he fainted.”
They both laughed, and Kellie exhaled in relief, falling back against the wall at the landing.
“So, what now?” she asked, uncharacteristically nervous.
“Maybe I can take you out for lunch, and you can tell me about your secret life as a vigilante,” Sam offered lightly. “I got someone to cover me at the bar.”
“Sure,” Kellie said, slowly nodding her head. “If you tell me about your life as dragon.”
Again, they laughed, each sizing the other up. They made their way down the steps, and as they exited through the rear of the building, Kellie’s cell rang in her purse. Grimacing slightly, she reached inside it to retrieve the device, shooting Sam an apologetic look as she walked away from him a little.
Her eyes narrowed as she saw it was a call from her father, and she debated whether to answer it.
In the end, did she really have any other choice?
“What?” she demanded as soon as she pressed the accept button.
“Is that any way to speak to your father?” came Senator Cole’s response.
“What, senator?” Kellie retorted.
There was a slight pause, and Kellie opened her mouth to tell him exactly what she had been planning to say to him after he’d had the guts to stand her up, but her father spoke before she could.
“I’m sorry about today, he said, “but I wanted to make sure you got my text earlier.”
Kellie stopped walking. “No,” she replied flatly. “I didn’t.”
“I texted you about an hour before we were supposed to meet,” the senator went on. “I had to fly out to DC today—it was a last-minute thing—”
“What text?” she interjected. “You didn’t—”
Suddenly, she remembered how her cell had chimed when she was on the trolley, and Kellie was barely able to hold back a groan.
I got all bent out of shape for no reason, she realized, feeling the need to slap herself. He didn’t stand me up after all. Torturing that bastard upstairs was unnecessary.
Kellie reasoned that Gary had still deserved it.
“No, I didn’t get the text,” she sighed. “But it’s okay.”
“Listen, Kellie,” her father said. “I don’t have time to talk right now, but I wanted to tell you that Andra and I are getting a divorce.”
Kellie was slightly ashamed at the spark of glee in her heart, but she managed to hide it from her voice.
“Sorry to hear that, Dad,” she said into the phone, holding up a finger at Sam, who waited patiently for her to finish her conversation. She tried to muster as much sincerity into her voice as possible.
“No, you’re not,” her father replied shortly, though Kellie could hear amusement in his tone. “But that’s besides the point. I wanted to tell you that this ridiculous battle between us is over. I realized that you’re what’s important, not whatever titles you might have. If your volleyball thing makes you happy, then I’m happy for you. Your happiness is what matters the most to me.”
Kellie was stunned by her father’s words, and she didn’t know how to respond. Had she been transported to an alternate, surrealist dimension?
“Is this a trick?” she blurted out, and her father guffawed.
“No,” he sighed. “And the fact that you’re even asking me that makes me feel like a terrible father.”
“You’re not a terrible father, Dad,” Kellie said quickly, and she meant it. He’d just had a terrible influence over him.
“I’d like you to move back into the house,” he continued. “But we’ll talk about it later tonight.”
An unexpected knot formed in Kellie’s throat, and she could only nod, even though she knew he couldn’t see it. “Okay,” she whispered.
&n
bsp; “I love you, Kell.”
“I love you too, Dad,” she exhaled.
The call ended, leaving Kellie to stand gaping into nothingness.
“Good news or bad news?” Sam asked, trying to read her face.
“I’m… still not sure,” she replied truthfully. Then she shook her head to herself and turned to look at Sam.
It’s like he literally swooped into my life and made everything okay, she thought. Like… like magic.
“Should we go, Jenn?” Sam asked before his cheeks colored in embarrassment. “Do, uh, do people call you Jenn, or is it always Jennifer?”
Kellie chuckled. “People call me Kellie.”
Sam snorted.
“Kellie it is,” he conceded.
She linked her arm in his and stared up into his attractive face, her pulse racing.
I can’t wait to tell everyone at Kappa Mu that I’ve ridden a dragon.
* * *
THE END
3
The Renovation
Dinner was unusually quiet, but Amy was painfully aware that her mother was reprovingly staring at her throughout the meal.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she finally demanded, knowing she was going to regret asking.
“Like what?” Carlene asked innocently.
“Like…” She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, like I have two heads or something?”
“No, honey, I—” Her mother paused for a second. “I’m not. Can you pass the salt, please?”
Amy’s blue eyes narrowed, and she leaned across the table to do what Carlene had asked her.
“Mom?” Amy tried again. “You’re acting like I just returned from the dead. What’s the problem?”
Her mother still refused to answer, and Amy looked hopelessly at her brother.
“Any input here, Joel?” she asked.
“She’s mad because you went to work with Kyle Peterson,” Joel informed her flatly, and Amy cast him a curious look.
