Dark Favors

by Sophie Stern

  “I think you like what you see,” she said boldly, staring pointedly at my cock.

  “Touch me,” I said.

  Almost instantly, she dropped her dress and reached her hand out. She rested it over my crotch. Gently, at first, she started to rub her hand up and down. Then she rubbed a little bit faster. She watched her hand curiously, as though this was the first time she’d done this before. I knew there was no chance in hell that was true. She was much too good at this. Shit, she was a fucking goddess.

  Before I could come apart in my damn pants like a fucking teenager, I grabbed her wrist and stopped her. She looked up at me, surprised. I saw the silent question on her face.

  What did I do wrong?

  “That was perfect,” I said. “But it’s time for us to get to work.”

  “Okay,” she said carefully, and she held her hands at her sides. “What do you want me to do?”

  “First of all, I need some research done,” I said. “I assume you can use a computer?”

  She started laughing so loudly that I wondered if I’d made some sort of terrible, awkward joke. Then she stopped.

  “Oh, you’re serious,” she said. “What the fuck kind of question is that?”

  “I just-“

  “Dude, I’m a fucking college student,” she said. “Of course I can use a computer.” She shook her head at me. “Why would you ask me that?”

  “Ignoring your disrespect,” I said, pointing out the fact that I could spank her again for her little outburst. “I’m going to answer your question. I have a lot of employees, Paige. A lot. Many of them show up and can’t do anything involving technology.”

  “So you don’t hire them?”

  “No. I always hire them, and then I give them the skills they need to move on to other and better jobs.”

  I didn’t plan to tell her that. It’s not something I exactly brag about. It was Rebecca’s passion, really. She always hated how many students she knew in school who attended on scholarship, but who were too poor to have computers or tech at home. The private high school we had both attended had an excellent computer lab, courtesy of a generous donation by my family, but it wasn’t enough. Rebecca and I both knew that a lot of people, especially those coming from poverty, struggled to get jobs when they weren’t skilled with computers or technology.

  “Woah,” she said.

  “Woah?”

  “I just wasn’t expecting you to say that,” Paige said. “That’s very kind of you.”

  “Kind isn’t a word often used to describe me,” I said. “In fact, I think the last person to call me kind was my sister.” It slipped out before I could stop it. I’d been thinking about Rebecca a lot lately. I’d been missing her more than usual. Still, I hadn’t planning on bringing her up to anyone, let alone Paige.

  She looked at me for a moment. Paige always seemed to just look. She was more perceptive than most people probably gave her credit for. She was the type of person people probably underestimated.

  “You must miss her a lot,” she said, and instantly, I felt overwhelming relief that she hadn’t said something else, something that hurt like I’m sorry or there’s a reason for everything. Those are the kinds of things I was used to hearing, and somehow, having someone say something like that always managed to make me feel worse instead of better.

  “I do.”

  “I read about her,” Paige said, explaining how she knew about my sister. Her honestly surprised me a little bit. Most of the time, if we look up people we know online, we keep that a secret.

  “What did you read?” I asked.

  Paige shrugged and looked around, not meeting my gaze. Suddenly, she seemed to find everything else in my office more interesting than me.

  Nope.

  Not going to happen.

  “Paige,” I said, my voice a little more firm. Apparently, my tone of voice was strong enough that it got her attention because she stopped and looked at me.

  “I read that she did a lot of volunteer work,” Paige finally said. “And I read that she was died in an accident.”

  An accident.

  Of course.

  Because that’s what everyone wanted to believe. Nobody wanted to know the truth. Nobody wanted to believe that a young woman in her early 20s could have discovered information that would get her killed. Nobody could even bear to think about the fact that someone had killed her in cold blood.

  I didn’t want to show all of my cards just yet. There would be a time when I let Paige in on the fact that my sister was killed by someone very important in our city. Until then, though, I had to keep it together and be totally calm. I had to let her believe whatever she wanted to believe even though it kind of killed me a little bit.

  Anytime someone said something about the accident, I got the distinct impression I was somehow betraying my little sister’s memory. It hurt, as though her loss was nothing more than some sort of cosmic mistake, when the truth was so much worse than that.

  Paige seemed to sense that there was nothing more to be said about that, so she carefully changed the subject.

  “About that research...”

  “Of course,” I said, nodding.

  Keep it together.

  Keep it together.

  “You can sit there,” I said, gesturing to a desk in the corner.

  She looked at it and frowned.

  “That wasn’t here the other day.”

  “No, it was not.”

  “Did you have it brought in just for me?” She asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I feel like I was caught being a bad student or something, like I’m somehow in trouble. It sort of seems like I’m being forced to sit at the front of the class at the bad kid’s desk or whatever.”

  I shook my head.

  “Trust me, Paige. You’re not a bad kid. You couldn’t be even if you wanted to.”

  A pang of guilt went through me. Not for the first time, I wondered if I was wrong about everything I was trying to do. It was wrong of me to dangle this carrot in front of her, I thought. It was, wasn’t it? It was mean to try to get her to help me so that I could get close to her and then expose her father’s lies.

  It was cruel.

  But there was a part of me that liked having her close to me, a part of me that really enjoyed having her near me. Perhaps most horribly, there was a deep sickness within me that wanted to keep her by my side forever.

  It wasn’t often that a girl interested me the way Paige did. She had a sort of demure calmness about her that was wildly addictive, and I knew that if I wasn’t careful, she was going to be my undoing.

  “Do you want me to sit down?” She asked quietly, gesturing to the desk. There was a laptop there with a stack of papers.

  “Yes,” I told her. “I need you to find the information on the forms and enter it into a new template. Here. I’ll show you how.”

  We walked to the desk and she sat down. I stood behind her, leaned over, and explained everything that I needed from her. Every so often, I’d lose my focus and start thinking about her shampoo, or the way her neck smelled sweet, or what she looked like when she masturbated.

  “This seems easy,” she said.

  “Were you worried?”

  “A little.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, you know.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I was worried about disappointing you.”

  “Oh, Paige,” I pushed away a strand of hair. “I don’t think you could disappoint me if you tried.”

  “Well, if I tried, I probably could,” she laughed. “I could do anything if I put my mind to it.”

  “Do I need to spank you again?” I whispered, pressing my lips to her ear. A shiver shot through her body, but she shook her head.

  “I’ll be good,” she said. “I promise.”

  “Good girl,” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. It was an unintended gesture, and something I probably shouldn’t have done. Still, I did, and the
only thing I could do next was to excuse myself before things got out of control.

  If she kissed me again, I was going to go crazy with excitement. Even though I fully planned to sleep with Paige, it wasn’t going to be the gentle lovemaking she was probably used to. It was going to be rough and tumble and wild. It was going to be perfect. I was going to make her come at least three, maybe four times.

  I’d make sure that when this was all over, she’d remember me.

  I’d make sure she’d never forget.

  Chapter 11

  Paige

  “So he just had you do...research?” Fawn was lying on her belly on the living room floor. She had books and notebooks spread out all around her. Probably, we should have been going to a party or doing something cool. Instead, we were having a weekend study session after my big first day with Mr. Locke.

  “Yeah,” I said. I started pulling out my own books. Fawn and I were in different classes, but we still liked studying together. We couldn’t necessarily help each other, but we could sit in the same place while we worked. Sometimes, that was enough. Having someone who could help you stay focused and make sure you weren’t just scrolling through your phone could be wildly helpful.

  At least, that had been our experience.

  “What kind of research?”

  “Boring, random stuff.”

  It had been underwhelming, actually. I had kind of hoped that he was going to play with me again, like I was some sort of sex doll for him to use and enjoy. I hated that I craved his touch, but I did, and I wasn’t really sure what to do about that except keep going back for more.

  He reminded me that I owed him money, which was true. He reminded me that I wanted information from him, which was also true. At the end of the day, though, I neither knew how much I still owed him nor the identity of my mysterious father. Locke had kissed me goodbye and sent me on my way, and told me to come back the next week.

  It was kind of frustrating, actually. I was used to things happening quickly. In grad school, everything seemed to move fast. I was always writing papers, researching information, and talking with my professors. Every single class I took pushed me closer to my goal of graduating, and despite the fact that I was still a newer student, it felt like I was getting closer and closer to my goal all of the time.

  “Weird,” Fawn said. “I wonder why he’s giving you busywork.”

  “You don’t think he actually needs me there, huh?”

  “No,” she shook her head. “I think it’s an excuse to have you close.”

  “Why?”

  “Well,” she shrugged. “He could have just as easily asked me to be his assistant. I live here, too, after all.”

  “True,” I said.

  It was hard to focus. No matter how I tried to study, my thoughts were consumed by Locke. It wasn’t a good thing. I knew that. It was bad. He wasn’t the type of guy I was going to fall in love with or marry. That wasn’t the type of person he was.

  Nope.

  Locke was the love ‘em and leave ‘em type of person, and I had a feeling that if I wasn’t careful, he was going to utterly destroy me.

  So I had to be careful.

  I finished studying with Fawn, and I went to my room. I laid in my bed for what felt like hours before I finally passed out. Then I woke up, grabbed my books, and started studying again. It was going to be a long week.

  WHEN SATURDAY ROLLED around, I was ready to meet with Locke again. At least, I thought I was. I had prepared a spreadsheet that showed what I thought I was worth and how much I should have been making per hour. Statistically, based on the information I’d put together, it shouldn’t take more than a couple of weekends to make back the money I “owed” him.

  I still wasn’t exactly buying that I was indebted to him except for the fact that he had something I now desperately wanted: information about my father.

  When I knocked on the door to his office, I already knew what to expect. He called for me to enter, and I did, but I wasn’t expecting him to be standing on a sort of box in the center of the room with a tailor taking his measurements.

  I definitely wasn’t expecting him to be in his underwear in the middle of the room.

  He was wearing short, tiny black boxer briefs. Judging by the look, they were satin, and they looked very soft, and his cock looked very big. The bulge in the front was enough to make my mouth feel dry. What the hell had I just walked into? I was there to do some work for him. I wasn’t there to oogle the realtor.

  “Good morning, Paige,” he said with a smile. “You’re early.” The tailor didn’t so much as look up from where he was measuring Locke’s body. I wondered what the hell he was making, and why their appointment had been so early on a Saturday. Surely Locke had other time in the middle of the week for shit like this. Had he scheduled the appointment at this time on purpose?

  Had he wanted me to see him in his underwear?

  “I’m not early,” I looked at my phone. “I’m right on time.”

  Literally, to the minute.

  “Oh,” he shrugged. “Well, good to see you today.”

  It was very, very good to see Locke. The guy was sculpted. If I hadn’t been attracted to him before, I’d be done for now. I didn’t know how much time he spent at the gym, but it must have been a lot. How the hell did he run a real estate empire with that kind of body? I thought all of his time went to meetings and deals. Nope. Apparently, all of his time went to meal prepping and gym time. Who knew?

  “What are you doing?” I asked carefully, looking at Locke. I tried not to gawk at the fact that he was standing in his underwear in the center of the room. I tried to ignore the fact that someone was taking his measurements and Locke was in his underwear.

  In the middle of the room.

  Shit.

  I felt hot and overheated. My body seemed to feel like it was a good idea to start sweating, and that was just embarrassing. Why was I getting so sweaty? Why was that happening to me? Locke was in his underwear, and I was...

  Well, I was hoping that the tailor would leave soon so I could drop to my knees, crawl over to Locke, and grab his boxers with my teeth. I wanted to tug down on them, pulling them to his ankles so his cock could be free. Then I wanted to lick him, sucking him. I wanted to give him the best fucking blowjob of his life. I wanted to make him fall apart. I wanted all of that, and then I wanted just a little bit more.

  I’d never felt greedy about sex before, but I sure as fuck felt it now. I didn’t understand how he had such a wild effect on me. Nobody else had ever made me feel like that before. Nobody else had made me feel like I was dying and being born at the same time. When I was around Locke, I felt wild.

  I felt feral.

  When he was close, it was like all of my instincts just became overwhelming. Instead of being demure and polite and kind and normal, I wanted to kick out the tailor and have Locke all to myself.

  His eyes locked on mine, and for some reason, I felt like he was reading my mind. That was crazy, though. Right? That was stupid. He couldn’t tell what I was feeling, no matter how horny I was. There wasn’t a chance.

  “I’m being measured,” he said, as though it was the simplest explanation in the world.

  “Why?”

  “Because I need a new suit.”

  “I feel like you have enough suits,” I said.

  “You can never have enough suits, Paige.”

  “Someone like you can. You must have one for every day of the week.”

  The tailor chuckled, and Locke glared in his general direction. The guy must have known, even though he didn’t look up, because he cleared his throat.

  “Almost finished, Mr. Locke.”

  “Thank you,” Locke said. Then he turned his gaze back to me. “You can set your things on the desk,” he said. I understood his point perfectly well. I wasn’t supposed to be on the phone during our time together. I was supposed to give him my complete attention. I was supposed to be his little toy, or his little worker, whic
hever word felt more appropriate for his needs at the moment.

  Sometimes I felt like arguing. What would he do if I told him no? Surely he wouldn’t spank me in front of the tailor.

  Would he?

  Something about Locke wasn’t quite right. He was just as wild as an animal sometimes. He might look nice, and he might be handsome, but there was something about Locke that other people didn’t know. I had seen the look in his eyes that I’d seen in other men before: wild men. Locke was powerful, and rich. He was wealthy.

  He could do whatever he wanted to do.

  He could take whatever he wanted to take.

  I had the feeling that he’d do it, too. You had to watch out if you were going to be around Locke. You had to know where to draw the line. Would he spank me in front of the tailor? Absolutely. I knew that he would.

  That was why I didn’t get all bratty with him. I just set my stuff on his desk, and then I headed to the little desk he had in the corner for me. I didn’t say anything else to him. I just sat down, opened the files on the desktop, and started typing.

  He watched me from his position in the center of the room. I didn’t let myself look up at him, but it didn’t matter. I could tell. I could feel his gaze on me. It was a good sort of feeling, too. When he looked at me, I got the feeling that he wanted me. That made me even more anxious than I already was.

  Eventually, the tailor finished and left the room, but I didn’t look up at Locke. He was still in his underwear, and he was still hanging out in the center of the room. I heard the door click, but I kept my eyes on the computer in front of me.

  “Paige,” he said.

  “Yes, Mr. Locke?” I didn’t look up.

  I couldn’t.

  “Come here,” he said.

  “Do you need something, Mr. Locke?” I asked. Again, I kept looking at the computer.

  Type.

  Type.

  Type.

  I couldn’t let myself look at him. He was going to be my undoing. I knew it.

  “Paige, don’t make me say it again.”

  His voice was steely that time. Commanding. He was going to make me obey whether I wanted to or not, and I had to do what he said. That was the beautiful thing about it, wasn’t it? He was going to make me do whatever he wanted, and I’d do it because he had something I wanted.