Of Devils & Deviants: An Anthology of Erotic Horror

by Graham Masterton

  Lauren laughed. Maybe he was going to be fun after all. She sucked at her Lucille before mouthing ‘bye-bye’ to the bimbo.

  Alex led her towards the back of the narrow bar and sat her down at the only available bench space he could find. He remained standing but leaned forward against the table so that he wasn’t looming over her.

  ‘So, tell me about yourself, Lauren.’ He noticed that he could glimpse her creamy white thighs peeking out from between the top of her stockings and the hem of her dress. He had the urge to kneel down and lick them.

  ‘What do you want to know?’

  ‘How about, why a girl like you is single?’

  She frowned as though his question had disappointed her, and he didn’t fail to notice.

  ‘Sorry, well, what colour is your underwear?’

  ‘Try asking a question you probably wouldn’t otherwise discover the answer to later tonight.’

  He sipped at his drink to hide his grin.

  ‘Let me try again.’

  ‘Make it good, Alex. You were far more attractive when you didn’t speak much. Your luck is running out.’

  ‘Ouch!’ a nearby male voice said. Alex didn’t bother trying to see who had said it.

  ‘Give me a second… okay?’

  She looked at him blankly.

  ‘I’ve got it. What were you doing at exactly three o’clock this afternoon?’

  She drained her Lucille dry and looked suggestively at the empty glass. He took it from her but wanted to hear the answer before leaving to get her another drink.

  ‘I was at home, in my bedroom. I was completely naked and studying entomology.’

  ‘Entomology?’

  ‘Yes,’ she confirmed. ‘You know what that is, don’t you?’

  ‘Of course, it’s the study of insects. You study insects.’

  ‘Yeah, and I bet that has made your hard on melt.’

  He shook his head and went back to the bar without uttering another word. She wasn’t just a hot little bitch; she was a brainy one too. That turned him on even more – and for the record – his erection hadn’t wavered since he had laid eyes on her. His confidence hadn’t wavered either, he still felt sure he would take her home with him.

  Alex looked around as he waited impatiently for a barman to give him a nod and lend him an ear. He couldn’t spot any familiar faces, which was a good thing considering the fact that he was in no mood to be interrupted. Lauren was all the company he was interested in having. He didn’t always go out alone; he often hit the town with a mate or two, but they had all been a little too busy recently. Luke was usually up for a wild night in the Valley but Alex hadn’t heard a word from him in the last few weeks.

  The faces of strangers bobbed up and down around him like buoys in the sea. Several of them were pretty faces belonging to girls Alex would love to take home with him, maybe another night.

  When he got back to where Lauren was, carrying a Sazerac in one hand and a Bellini in the other, he was so surprised by what he saw that he almost lost his grip on the cocktails. The blonde in the tiny red dress and Lauren were talking. Well, maybe talking wasn’t the most accurate way to describe what was happening. They were hissing at each other like cats and Alex had a feeling that it wouldn’t be long before the claws came out. He had to do something to calm the situation and, at the same time, show his dominance to both of the females.

  ‘Lauren, who’s your friend?’ he asked charmingly.

  ‘This jealous bitch isn’t my friend.’

  ‘You’re a psychopath! I’m not jealous of you.’

  ‘Go away then.’

  ‘Ladies…’

  ‘Fine, I’ll go away, but you’d better stop looking at me.’

  ‘I’ll look wherever the hell…’

  ‘It’s settled then,’ Alex interrupted. ‘Let’s just leave it at that.’

  ‘It’s not settled, honey,’ the blonde spat. ‘She’s provoking me!’

  Alex looked at Lauren pleadingly. He just wanted the blonde to disappear before the three of them were kicked out of the bar.

  ‘No problem, I’ll stop looking at you,’ Lauren said. Bitch, she thought.

  The blonde walked away and Alex couldn’t help but have a quick look at her arse. Her cheeks peeped out from under the hem with each step she took.

  ‘What a bitch!’ Lauren whispered so that the blonde wouldn’t hear her and come storming back. ‘What did you get me?’

  ‘A Bellini,’ he answered, placing the glass in front of her.

  ‘Excellent choice,’ she congratulated him. ‘Oh yeah, and thanks for calming us down. You’ve almost made up for your pathetic questions.’

  ‘As a matter of fact, I’ve got a few more questions for you. For instance, why do you study naked?’

  She rolled her eyes at him, but it was more out of playfulness than mockery.

  He just stared at her.

  ‘I was joking,’ she eventually answered. ‘I was just teasing you. Nobody in their right mind would study naked, right?’

  He smiled at the way she had thrown the question back at him, trying to make him feel awkward. He didn’t bother replying. He just sipped at his Sazerac. The girl was either trying hard to seem up for it or she really was. Surprisingly, he hoped it was the former. It would be a lot more fun that way.

  * * *

  Several cocktails later, they were ready to leave. They were both eager to get to know each other a hell of a lot better in more intimate surroundings.

  Lauren went to the ladies’ room for what felt like an eternity to Alex. He hoped she wouldn’t change her mind while she was there. He knew all too well that women often did that. He didn’t know how it happened, but the ladies’ room held sway over them, giving them the kind of clarity of mind that often erased all the filthy ideas men had tried to put in their heads. He waited impatiently, checking out some of the other women and wondering if he would get the opportunity to take them home sometime in the future.

  When Lauren finally returned, he led her out onto Ann Street. There wasn’t a seed of doubt that she was as ready and willing as ever.

  They stumbled past Downe’s Shoes with its dozens of Doc Martens behind the display window, and made their way over to the taxi rank opposite the Zoo.

  ‘I’ll take you to my place,’ Alex said as they waited in the queue.

  She tilted her head to one side and for a moment she didn’t seem as drunk as he had thought.

  ‘I would rather we went to mine. After all, I don’t really know you.’

  Alex tried not to show his disappointment but doubted how successful he was at hiding it. It was a shame. He had a great selection of toys he wanted to use on her. Without them he would be forced to improvise. The only problem was that she wasn’t drunk enough.

  ‘Do you have anything to drink at your place?’ he asked with an air of innocence.

  ‘Everything you could possibly want.’

  They shuffled along until they reached the end of the queue and got into a taxi.

  ‘Where to?’ the driver asked.

  She gave him her address and he typed it into his GPS before pulling out and driving off along Ann Street, leaving the Bowery, the Brunswick Street Mall with its swarm of drunken night-clubbers, and the much quieter Chinatown Mall behind.

  ‘I still live with my folks,’ she admitted with some embarrassment, ‘but they’re overseas at the moment.’

  Alex didn’t reply. He just smiled at her and decided that he was going to kiss her. It was time to make a move. He wanted to stick his tongue into her mouth and feel its moist warmth. He wanted to taste the cocktails she had drunk.

  She was surprised by his sudden advance but didn’t resist as he placed one hand behind her head and pushed her face towards his. The other hand then slipped down between her thighs and a chill ran through him as it edged its way across the thin fabric of her stockings and onto the smooth surface of her skin. He wondered if she would reach down and grab him by the wrist, yanking h
is hand away. If she did, then it would probably all be over before it ever really started. But Alex was confident that she wouldn’t.

  It turned out that he was right.

  They didn’t feel ashamed about making out in the taxi. They ignored the driver completely and failed to notice the frown of disgust on his face as he concentrated on his driving and struggled not to glance at them in the rear vision mirror whenever he had to stop at a red light.

  Alex sucked at Lauren’s lips. They felt like soft alcoholised slugs. Her eyes were closed but he kept his open. He stared at her eyelids and noticed that she wore a faint shade of green eyeliner. Alex didn’t know much about Lauren but he felt pretty sure he had guessed what her favourite colour was. For some reason, knowing that personal detail excited him even more. He could feel an enormous pressure building up deep inside himself. It was begging to be transferred to her.

  Lauren opened her eyes. Her lashes brushed against his like startled butterflies. She had caught him in the act of staring at her. She let out a single breathy laugh and then closed her eyes again. They continued sucking at each other.

  Alex’s hand crept slowly along the inside of her thigh until the tip of his index finger came into contact with fabric. The urge to slip it under was strong but he restrained himself and just held his palm pressed against her thigh. Lauren wanted him to touch her there but, at the same time, she was happy that he‘d known where to draw the line. This was a man who knew how to play his cards with a perfectly balanced combination of confidence and self-control.

  When the taxi eventually came to a halt, the driver had to interrupt them.

  ‘We’re here!’ he snapped.

  Alex looked at the screen to check the fare. $19.10.

  He fished a twenty dollar note out his wallet and let the driver keep the change.

  Lauren flashed the driver a smile that could only be interpreted as meaning; I bet you’re jealous, aren’t you? Then she slipped out behind Alex.

  The taxi disappeared into the night, leaving the pair standing in the darkness of a beautiful Bardon street whose tranquillity contrasted starkly with the noise and lights of the Valley.

  Alex looked at Lauren, waiting for her to show him the way. She took him by the hand and led him across the street and up a steep driveway that penetrated a thickly wooded front yard. On either side of them, towering eucalypts whose dry leaves rustled in the gentle breeze were connected to shorter frangipanis and low-growing grevilleas by a wild tangle of jasmine and passion fruit vines. In some places, the vines had even stretched right over the driveway and were clinging to the branches of trees on the other side.

  Alex was enchanted. This wasn’t a garden; it was a hidden realm of magical beauty. He lived in a share house in West End where there was only just enough room in the front yard for a weed infested flower bed. Out back was little better with no more than a rusty old Hill’s Hoist and a solitary paw paw tree. He was suddenly ashamed of his unimpressive and far from intimate home. It was a good thing he had let Lauren insist on them going back to her place. The atmosphere would be much more conducive to a no holds barred liaison and, more importantly, it was relatively secluded.

  He opened his mouth to tell Lauren what he thought of the forest but she guessed what he was about to say.

  ‘Isn’t it just? We used to have a gardener but we just let it grow now.’

  If the front yard was so wildly beautiful, he couldn’t begin to imagine how breathtaking it must have been out back. But they were both more interested in spending time indoors.

  When they arrived at the front door, Alex realised just how wealthy Lauren’s family was. The house was a massive, three-storey structure with a verandah around the two upper storeys. The branches of the eucalypts touched the railings of the highest verandah and Alex noticed possums looking down at them from up there. He wondered how many men they had observed her bringing home before. If only he could have asked them.

  Lauren inserted the front door key without any difficulty. Alex needed to get her to drink some more, she was nowhere near inebriated enough. He placed a hand on her arse and squeezed, then let his fingers slide up under the hem of her dress.

  ‘Patience,’ she whispered. It was the first time she had tried to slow him down. He ignored her and raised his hand towards her crotch. His fingers touched between her legs. He grinned. It was moist – yes, he could definitely detect the feel of warm moisture.

  A light flashed on and he noticed that she was giving him a hard stare. He immediately retracted his hand.

  ‘Alex, you were doing so well.’

  The pressure inside him grew even stronger as the terrible possibility that she might want to call it all off struck him. He had to say something to stop that from happening. No! He had to keep his mouth shut and just smile a mock apology.

  She started walking up the flight of polished wood stairs. Alex admired the movement of her legs as she climbed, the way her hips swayed from side to side. He wanted to hike her cute little green dress up and tug her panties down so that he could lick her buttocks with all the eagerness of a cat on discovering that somebody had left the butter on the kitchen bench. He resisted the temptation. He just followed her.

  She flicked a light on and watched a look of amazement come over Alex’s face. It was obvious that he hadn’t been expecting what he saw. He had assumed that the living room would be minimalist, a rarely used fireplace next to a plasma TV with a coffee table and leather lounge facing. Perhaps there would be a painting or two on the walls but nothing more. But what he saw was far from that. The living room had dozens of books and scores of empty plates scattered all over it. There were letters all over the floor, some opened and others still sealed, and junk mail booklets lay sprawling here, there and everywhere. Lauren certainly wasn’t a fan of housework.

  ‘I’m sorry. I haven’t had time to clean up.’ The shame in her voice and guilt on her face made her even sexier.

  ‘That’s all right,’ Alex shrugged. ‘My place is no better.’

  ‘Do you still feel like a drink? I think that I’ve maybe had enough.’

  ‘Oh, come on! Don’t let me drink alone… please. Just have one more with me.’ He knew very well that if she agreed to one more, she would end up having several. He looked at her with puppy eyes until she nodded.

  ‘All right, one last drink. What do you want?’

  He didn’t really mind – something strong – just so long as she would have the same. She needed a spirit that would quickly inebriate her.

  ‘Do you have cognac?’

  ‘Cognac?’ she repeated the word as though she had never even heard it before. ‘Let me see.’

  She stepped over a ring binder that was packed with more sheets of paper than it was designed to hold and almost tripped on a voluminous tome entitled ‘Species Dysphoria’ that was dog-eared and riddled with sticky note bookmarks. Alex marvelled at how serious a student she seemed to be.

  After kicking a copy of Brisbane News aside, she knelt down in front of an antique cabinet and turned the tiny key that unlocked it. The doors creaked as she swung them open to reveal two shelves stacked full of all kinds of bottles.

  Alex gasped. Her old man certainly appreciated a fine drop. He spotted an almost full bottle of twenty-one year old Bruichladdich, a bottle of Dom Benedictine, two bottles of Fonseca port and a selection of champagnes and French reds.

  ‘Remy Martin cognac,’ she read out loud. ‘Is that all right?’

  ‘It certainly is, if your father doesn’t mind letting a stranger drink it in his absence.’

  ‘And then having his way with his daughter,’ she added cheekily. ‘Don’t worry, he won’t even notice.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ he asked, referring to the cognac.

  ‘Yeah, I’m sure. What do you care anyway? I don’t think either of us is on the hunt for a long-term, meet-the-parents sort of relationship – or have I got you all wrong?’

  ‘You’re one hell of a girl. No, you haven�
��t got me wrong.’

  ‘I didn’t think so.’ She removed the bottle along with two champagne flutes.

  ‘Have you never tried cognac?’

  ‘No,’ she admitted, shaking her head.

  ‘Have some with me then, won’t you?’

  She looked at him and he could see that she didn’t feel entirely comfortable with the idea. For the first time since they had met, she had allowed a seed of suspicion to germinate in her mind.

  ‘It’s one of the finest brandies in the world. You shouldn’t drink it out of a champagne flute though.’

  ‘What should you drink it out of?’

  ‘A balloon snifter.’

  ‘Excuse me.’

  ‘May I,’ he nodded towards the cabinet.

  ‘Make yourself at home. You’re the man of the house tonight.’

  He smiled as he stepped over to the liquor cabinet and knelt down. Man of the house, he liked the sound of that. Hidden in a corner behind the wine and whisky glasses were two snifters. It was obvious that they were seldom put to use. He pulled them out and had to blow a few specks of dust off them.

  As he stood up, Lauren handed him the bottle of Remy Martin and asked, ‘Will you do the honours while I put some music on?’

  He nodded obligingly and, after making some space, set the bottle and glasses down on the coffee table. He then sat down on the lounge and watched Lauren as she switched two lamps on, turned the ceiling light off, and then slotted her iPhone onto its dock. She moved so deliberately, as though each movement was being carried out in order, like a ritual. Alex thought about the possums again. How many men had they seen step through those front doors? He could tell that she was not unfamiliar with setting up a romantic atmosphere. She had gone through those motions many times before.

  A pang of jealousy started to gnaw at Alex but he succeeded in nipping it in the bud. He pushed it out of his mind. What did that matter to him? Neither of them was innocent. They had both agreed to spend the night together for one reason alone – carnal satisfaction – even though neither of them could really pretend to know what the other’s concept of that pleasure might be.