Chasing her Curves

by Kelli Callahan

  “What do I have to do to convince you that Harmony belongs with me?” I stared at her as I took a seat.

  “It isn’t that simple.” Angelina shook her head back and forth. “Harmony is a special girl, and she does need a man like you, but you have to realize you aren’t all she needs to prosper.”

  “Why?” I narrowed my eyes. “She enjoyed her time with me. She’s naturally submissive. What is wrong with me?”

  “Nothing at all.” Angelina sipped her gin and tonic before placing it on the table. “You’re perfect for her, but you were only one road she needed to walk down to reach her destination.”

  “Her road led to me long ago. Across my knee was exactly where she needed to be. You may have put this in motion, but I’m here because I know what I want. I want Harmony.” I continued staring at Angelina and sipped my Scotch again.

  “You’re not wrong, but you’re a dark fantasy. She does have natural tendencies, but they are only a part of the woman she truly is. You understand that, right? You’ve seen women believe they want the life, but only want it in the darkness.” She tilted her head to the side.

  “Yes.” I exhaled sharply. “It’s annoying as fuck.”

  “That’s the piece of yourself that you’re hanging up on. You want a perfect submissive woman that lives the life every waking hour of the day, but you’ve built that up in your head. What about when you go to work? What are they supposed to do, stay on their knees until you get home?” She reached for her glass. “It isn’t realistic.”

  “So what are you saying?” I tilted my head and glared at her. “You think my expectations are not realistic?”

  “I’m saying you need to open yourself up to new possibilities. Perhaps you can have the perfect woman you want in the darkness, but learn to cherish an entirely different world when the lights come on.” She nodded and smiled as she sipped her drink. “Don’t throw away an amazing opportunity. No one man is going to possess Harmony.”

  “I don’t like to share.” I lifted my drink and continued to glare. “That isn’t the kind of man I am.”

  “You currently have nothing but a dream. You’ve spent a lot of time looking, but you’ve always been blinded by your vision of what you believe you want. Think about it. You obviously don’t have to make a decision now.” She shrugged.

  “Where’s Harmony? I’d like to see her again.” I leaned forward. “I’m fairly certain she wants to see me again as well.”

  “She’s… away.” Angelina nodded. “I had to send her down another road and I’m about to send you down one of your own.”

  “I’m done with these games.” I shook my head angrily. “Either she wants to be with me or she doesn’t. There is no in-between. I know what she needs and what she wants. I felt it.”

  “You’re partially correct, but chapters open and chapters close. Another one had to open before she was truly ready. I promise it will make sense soon enough.” She nodded slowly.

  “Enough with the riddles. Where is Harmony at? I’ll go get her myself.” I narrowed my eyes angrily.

  “Wait here.” Angelina slowly stood to her feet. “I have someone I want you to meet. I’ll be back shortly.”

  I continued glaring at Angelina as she walked to the door and left. I didn’t like games. I had enough of it with women that thought they wanted to submit but learned it wasn’t what they thought. Harmony was the kind of woman I needed. She enjoyed it, even when it was punishment. Her wet pussy begged for more while she was over my knee, and when my finger was inside her, she erupted in a volcano of bliss. I had to make her mine. I didn’t care what Angelina thought. There was no way that she could bring me to the threshold of everything I had ever wanted and yank it away. If she thought I was that kind of man, she was sorely mistaken.

  She thinks she’s clever, but she has no idea who she’s messing with.

  15

  Nate

  I had trusted Angelina. That trust had taken me down a road that threatened to crush everything I needed to finally feel complete. I thought the closure I needed was with my father, but I was wrong. It had opened my eyes instead of closed them. There was an unsatisfied rage and I would have to learn to live with it. Perhaps it would get easier in time, but if I left Bakersfield again without Harmony, my turmoil would be worse than it was when Angelina first started trying to crack my shell. She believed Harmony needed to walk her roads to find the destination, but I no longer believed that. My philosophy had changed. I finally saw the reality of love and it could chase away the darkest night—it could vanquish the fiercest demon. That was what I needed. I needed Harmony.

  Angelina’s view is driven by fancy software and a god complex. She’s missing the purity of the moment. That was enough to change my father—surely it’s enough to let me find the happiness I’ve needed for so long.

  I tried to explain my thought process to Angelina, but it didn’t go well. She wasn’t ready to have her viewpoint challenged. By the time I got there, Harmony was already on another road. The worst part of it was realizing that I was the one that convinced Harmony to give it a shot in the first place. Another man had his hands on the woman I had fallen for—the woman I never got over—and I was the one the that told her to trust the she-devil. When the knock came at my door, I knew it was Angelina. I was still angry, but I realized that the only road which would lead me back to Harmony had to go through her.

  “Hello, Angelina.” I opened the door and took a step back.

  “You’re still angry.” She sighed as she stepped through the door. “I knew the meeting with your father would be hard, especially since he played such an integral role in your decision to leave Bakersfield.”

  “You knew he was happy—you knew he had changed.” I stared and slammed the door.

  “Yes, but it wasn’t something I could tell you. I would have explained that to you yesterday if you weren’t ranting about love and people changing.” Angelina walked over and took a seat on the edge of the bed.

  “Why do you play these twisted games?” I walked over and sat down in the chair across from her. “Isn’t this the same kind of twisted game that got all of those people killed at Club Infinite Fantasy?”

  “That was a tragedy and it had nothing to do with bringing people together. It was a psychopath that had an agenda against one of the people I was helping.” She shook her head and I saw pain fill her eyes. “I would never put someone in danger.”

  “No, you just strip people of the shell that protects them and shove them into a bed of razorblades.” I shook my head angrily. “You tore me apart until I was vulnerable, then you gave me a chance at love—but of course, you had to rip it apart.”

  “Stripping away the shell and bringing out the vulnerabilities is the only way to make it work. You weren’t ready for Bakersfield when I met you. You weren’t ready to try and embrace the life you never had with Harmony. This place was nothing but terrible memories for you. Now, you have a chance to build something new.” She leaned forward and patted my hand. “If Harmony is what you really want, you’re going to have her—but much like you, she has things that linger in the shadows.”

  “I need a little more reassurance than your words.” I pulled my hand away.

  “Then I have someone I’d like you to meet.” She stood to her feet. “Come, let’s go back to my hotel.”

  “Nate, this is Devlin. Devlin—Nate.” I followed Angelina into her suite and stared at the man she introduced me to.

  “Hello, Nate.” Devlin looked at Angelina and then back to me. “Is this my competition?”

  “Competition?” I scoffed. “How do you even know Harmony?”

  “Why don’t you two catch up.” Angelina smiled and walked back towards the door. “Try not to damage your pretty faces if it comes to blows.”

  I sat down across from Devlin. There was silence for a few minutes and then he started to tell me about Harmony—his version of her, at least. She was someone he had met online and they built a pseudo-relations
hip on their guilty pleasures. It was strange hearing another man talk about someone I had been intimate with, but as he relayed his story, I found the jealousy fading. I never realized Harmony had those kinds of desires. I had met a few women in South America that liked sex on the rougher side, and I had no problem taking it there, but I never really enjoyed spanking them. I definitely had no desire to hurt them.

  “So that’s why Angelina brought you to Bakersfield.” I sighed and shook my head. “I need a drink.”

  “Me too, but then I want to hear your story.” Devlin’s intense stare seemed to fade as we sat back down with her drinks.

  I told Devlin everything. We both cared about the same woman. I didn’t feel like he was competition—not exactly. We each brought something unique to Harmony’s life. Angelina saw that. She saw Harmony’s dark desires and found a man that could satisfy them. I definitely couldn’t have played that role—not the way Devlin explained it. Over the course of a few drinks and shared stories, I came to terms with who he was. My view of Angelina’s meddling started to soften. Love was more complicated than I realized. It wasn’t just a collision of lust that built into a future—there were cravings that had to be satisfied. Jealousy was easy. Acceptance required someone without their shell to see the bigger picture. The bigger picture was a twisted view of a world I thought I understood.

  “I’ve spent my life looking for this one person. She didn’t have a name or a face. She was nothing more than an image in my mind. Fuck…” Devlin lifted his glass and sipped his drink. “Maybe I’ve been blind to what I could really have.”

  “We’ve both been blind. I got caught up in an illusion as well. The illusion is safe—the reality is more complicated.” I nodded and sipped my drink. “Maybe the two of us could reach some sort of understanding—but that understanding requires me to wholeheartedly believe you would never hurt her.”

  “I’d die before I would do something like that. There is safety in exploration. You just have to understand that she does crave what I offer.” Devlin sipped his drink again. “I’ve never considered something like this before, but maybe it could work.”

  “Where do we go from here?” I sighed and shook my head. “We don’t even know where she is. Angelina sent her on another one of her supposed roads.”

  “Well, it seems like the two of us were necessary roads. Perhaps her third one is just as necessary.” Devlin shrugged. “I’m coming to terms with this. Maybe we both need to keep an open mind.”

  “I’m trying.” I sighed again. “I just don’t like the uncertainty.”

  “Me either. This is new territory for me.” Devlin raised his glass. “But here’s to uncertainty—whatever direction it takes us.”

  “As long as it takes us back to Harmony.” I lifted my glass and we both nodded before taking a drink.

  16

  Harmony

  One week later

  Saving Connor from his self-imposed fate hadn’t been easy. He was struggling with the weight of the world on top of him, but we found solace in a tangled embrace when the workday was done. My parents were worried. My boss had pretty much let me know that I wasn’t welcome back if I didn’t give him a firm date for my return. All I could focus on was Connor and keeping him away from the edge. When the night was ours, I belonged to him. When he went to sleep and I was alone with my thoughts, they refused to let me forget Nate or Devlin. I wondered how they handled my departure. I hoped they didn’t forget me. I had been completely honest with Connor, but I don’t know that he truly connected with my words. His need was too strong. I sat alone in his apartment after he left for work, lost in my thoughts, when I heard a knock at the door.

  “Angelina?” I pulled the door open with a shocked expression on my face. “What are you doing here?”

  “I thought I needed to come check on you. It’s been a week since you left Bakersfield and I haven’t heard a word.” She stepped into the apartment and I closed the door.

  “Yeah—I’m sorry about that. Connor was in a difficult spot and while he’s smiling again, I know he’s fragile.” I sighed and locked eyes with her. “How are Nate and Devlin doing?”

  “They’re anxious. I’ll admit that I didn’t expect it to take you this long to figure things out with Connor. I thought you would pull him away from the edge and then this road would lead you back to Bakersfield.” She took a seat and looked up at me.

  “I didn’t expect this.” I sighed and sat down beside her. “I wasn’t expecting things to pick up where they left off. God, Nate must hate me for leaving him after he came back for me. Devlin must feel like I abandoned him again.”

  “I’ve learned that the roads which take us to our final destination sometimes have bumps. In this case, it’s a larger bump, but the road is still headed in the right direction. Nate and Devlin came to New York with me.” Angelina smiled and nodded.

  “Wait—they’re here!?” My eyes opened wide.

  “Yes.” She nodded again. “I guess they feel like you’re worth chasing after. They’ve actually become good friends in your time away.”

  “Wow…” I shook my head in surprise. “I didn’t expect that. They’re nothing alike.”

  “They share a common interest.” She narrowed her eyes. “You. Nate has already chased you once—this wasn’t that much of a stretch for him.”

  “They aren’t upset that I left?” I stared at the floor for a moment. “I thought they’d be furious.”

  “You’re a special woman. They see through the minutia. The last mile is up to you.” She pulled a card out of her purse and handed it to me. “This is where they are staying. You should talk with Connor and be open with him.”

  “I’ve been honest since the beginning. He knows about Nate and Devlin, but I’m not sure his eyes are fully open.” I sighed and took the card.

  “Then help him see through his blindness. The key to opening the door that leads to your future is truth. It’s been that way from the beginning.” She tucked her purse under her arm and stood.

  “Leaving so soon?” I looked up at her.

  “This is out of my hands now. I’ve done all I can do. I’ve showed you the way, I’ve ripped apart your shell, and now you have to figure out where your future lies.” She smiled and nodded. “It’s been a pleasure to work with all of you.”

  “Wait—so I won’t see you again?” I stood up quickly. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

  “The answers to everything are in front of you.” She nodded and leaned in for a hug. “You just have to find them.”

  Once Angelina was gone, I was even more confused than I was when she arrived. My heart beat fast in my chest when I thought about Nate and Devlin being in New York. I knew where they were. I could go to them. Part of me wanted to do just that. The other part was worried about where that would leave Connor. The truth had kept the plates spinning, so if I was going to find a way to keep them going, I would have to embrace it once again. I waited around the rest of the day with my thoughts consuming me. When Connor arrived, I fixed drinks for the two of us and sat down on the couch. It had been another challenging day for him at work and I considered waiting another day to tell him about Nate and Devlin, but I didn’t want it lingering in the air.

  “So, I had a visitor today.” I sipped my vodka and tried to judge his reaction.

  “Angelina?” He looked at me and tilted his head.

  “How did you know?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

  “I knew she would show up at some point. Based on what you told me, I was certain what we had wouldn’t last forever. It was one last lightning bolt in the storm—eventually the clouds had to clear.” He sighed and nodded.

  “I’m here for you.” I reached out and took his hand. “No matter what. I didn’t want to keep it a secret from you, especially since Nate and Devlin came with her to New York.”

  “You gave me a brief glimpse of happiness, but the direction I was on wasn’t going to change. You were a wonderful distra
ction.” He smiled and nodded. “I can’t be the man that holds your beautiful curves forever—I barely hold onto my own sanity.”

  “We’re not giving up.” I squeezed his hand.

  “You give me hope—a reason to fight.” He nodded. “Give me one more night, and then I want to meet them.”

  “You do?” I blinked in surprise.

  “I should be jealous, right? I should refuse to let you go and demand that you stay. You’ve been so good for me. I’m a realist though, above everything. It’s why I see the only real outcome. I want to know you’re going to be taken care of, regardless of what happens.” He sipped his vodka and nodded.

  “No.” I shook my head and back and forth. “We’re not giving up without a fight—your fate isn’t sealed. We’re going to figure out how to fix this problem, and we’re going to do it together. I’m asking you to keep an open mind. I’ve had to do that since the beginning.”

  “I’ll try.” He slid closer on the couch. “But tonight, I just want to forget about all of that and enjoy our time together.”

  “Okay.” I nodded and felt my lips start to tremble and worry consumed me.

  Our lips met and the same fireworks I had felt every night since I showed up on his doorstep exploded in my head. He crushed my trembling lips beneath his powerful kiss. My head spun with passion. I wanted him, even in the confusion swirling around us. He pushed me back on the couch and started pulling on my shirt. Our lips broke as he pulled it over my head and tossed it on the floor. I pushed his suit jacket off his shoulders and started unbuttoning his shirt. Our roaring lust tore at our clothes until we were naked on the couch, tangled in our embrace. He pulled my legs apart and sank between my thighs, pushing his cock into my wetness.