Eddie rubbed his cock against her mound, sliding it down to where her thighs parted. "Open."
Immediately, June's drew her legs further apart, tugging on his hair, nails scratching his shoulders and the tight muscles of his arms. Eddie thrust and sank deep into her. His passion left him no choice; he had to take her harshly. There was no resisting her wet softness, the tightness of her glove around him. God, but she was beautiful.
He hovered over her, pumping into her. Leaning on one arm, he reached between them and found her clit. It was pulsing in time with her gasps. She cried out when he gave her a little pinch; it wasn't a cry of discouragement at all. June loved what they were doing, and Eddie knew it as well as he knew that he could make her come by stroking within with his cock and stroking without with his fingers.
June's hips drove against him, her wet pussy tightening even more. He pistoned into her, hard, fast, unrelenting. His balls were growing heavy and eager to spill.
Another pinch on her clit had June calling out his name, tensing, arching, coming with her whole body.
Victory.
Eddie slowly removed his hand from her folds and, up on two arms now, he prodded her at a greater pace, looking for his own orgasm. He knew it would be a big one, a full one, as he intended to fill his dream girl with everything he had.
She writhed again, beneath him, coming out of her orgasmic stupor slowly. Another minute, just one, and then he groaned, coming furiously inside her, actively pounding against her hips.
Arching, June pressed him deeper with her hands kneading and pulling at his butt.
Her moan was almost one of pain, but not quite, and she reached her peak once again, milking his prick with her strong inner muscles. Eddie had nothing more to give, but damn, it felt good.
They paused, gasping. After a little rest, Eddie pulled June up higher on the bed, where she rested against his chest. He hadn't even taken off his pants; they were around his knees with his shorts.
The mental picture of their tousled and sweaty appearance made him chuckle.
Gently, June stroked his lightly furred chest. "What's funny?" Her voice was low, satisfied.
"My shoes are still on," he told her, chuckling more.
She laughed against him, a little vibration through her chest as it pressed against his side. "It's a little late, but maybe we ought to be naked."
"I agree, but I don't want to move. I'm floating," he said.
"Me, too."
Indolently, they lay like that for a long time. Eddie thought maybe June was drowsing. But he knew, from the Romantek materials he had read, that if he closed his eyes long enough, the day would turn and it would be morning again. He didn't want that yet, but it was hard to resist.
Eventually, as moonlight streamed through the window and through the gaps in the drapes, he succumbed, still lying on the bed, with his pants and shorts around his knees, his feet hanging off the end of the mattress. His last thought was of June, and then the world lurched.
Chapter 3
When Eddie opened his eyes, the sun was up. He checked his watch. It was seven-fifteen. June was in the shower; he could hear the water running. Stretching, he got out of the bed and righted his clothes. He felt sweaty and sticky, could still smell the Manhattan on his chest, with sex mixed in. He considered joining her under the water, but decided that he needed to get home and change his clothes, then to his office to make some phone calls.
Besides, she was a dream girl. He didn't need to romance her too much. It wouldn't go with his hard-boiled persona anyway.
Eddie left a note before he got on his way.
* * * * *
It turned out that Eddie had a little house in Van Nuys. It was a fair drive to get there, and he got lost at one point, misunderstanding the cues Romantek was giving him. Eventually, he found the place. It was small, a little messy. Eddie wasn't a slob in his real life, but his real home was a bit cluttered—but lived in and comfortable. There were two more suits hanging in his closet, so he took a shower, shaved with a safety razor, cutting himself only twice, and proceeded to his office back downtown.
Fran was there, touching up her makeup. She smiled brightly at him as he entered.
"Eddie! I wondered when you'd get in. Did you take the Premier Insurance case?"
"Hello, Fran. Yeah, I took the case."
Eddie liked the way Fran looked, and he remembered how the secretary was always a wannabe girlfriend in the Mike Hammer books. The way Fran smiled at him, her perky demeanor and enthusiasm when he was around, were big hints about her role in the dream. And, damn, but she was a looker. No one would call her plain, and he could see how a man could get wound tighter than knots having a girl like that working for him. But she was a bit gushy, a bit too passive. It made him feel like a thug and a little guilty for any lust he felt for her, avatar or not.
"She's pretty, hm?"
Maybe there was more to Fran than he’d come to expect after only a few days of knowing her. "Miss Tarryton?"
Fran frowned. "Who else?"
"Well, you're pretty, too." He tried a smile to see if it would nix the way the conversation was turning. Although the hint of jealousy he heard in Fran’s voice was satisfying, Eddie wasn’t sure he wanted to be part of a love triangle.
"You big palooka. Flattering me won't make everything all right."
Maybe there was more to Fran and Eddie than he knew. Romantek might be making this part of the dream a direct challenge. He approached her desk and leaned over it. "What will make things all right, doll?"
Her eyes went soft and dreamy, quickly changed color to blue and then, just as quickly changed back to their usual gray. Had Eddie not been staring directly into them, he would never have noticed. Real people's eyes didn't do that—even enhanced eyes didn't do that on their own. "You're teasing me, aren't you, Eddie?"
"Yeah, I am. I'm a rat, huh?"
She nodded, but the affection never left her gaze. "Yeah, Eddie. A rat fink."
He chuckled. Fran was attractive, but she wasn't June of the sinfully red hair and blue eyes. June with her passion on her sleeve and her bottom ready for spanking. No, she wasn't June.
In fact, that change of eye color had to have been a computer glitch. Any thought Eddie had had about Fran possibly being real went out the window. Literally, in the blink of an eye.
The door opened and his dream woman walked in.
* * * * *
Eddie looked over his shoulder and smiled, but June was having none of it. Eddie was a turd, and she'd realized it as soon as she found his note this morning. She also knew he was a real person, not a figment of her dream. He was a louse of a person, and for the moment—probably forever—she despised him.
"I thought I'd find you here," she said, trying to work the tightness out of her voice.
Eddie straightened, chucking Fran under the chin as he did. "No hello?"
Her temper flared. "Go to hell, Eddie."
Fran gasped.
Golden shards formed in Eddie's eyes. His expression went cold. "Nice greeting, lady."
She huffed and led the way toward his office. "We have work to do." Turning back, she said, "You coming?"
As he came up behind her, she heard him mutter, "I already came and you were there."
June's heart lurched again. He was impossible. "Shut up and get to work. I'm paying you by the day."
Eddie opened the private office door and gestured toward the interior. "After you, Miss Tarryton."
Shoulders stiff, she walked into the room.
Eddie removed his hat and sat down behind his desk. June sat primly on the guest chair and waited for his apology. None was forthcoming. Instead, he picked up the receiver of his old telephone and dialed the rotary gizmo.
"Captain Williams. Tell him this is Eddie Strong."
There was a long pause, and June exchanged some barbed looks with Eddie while they waited.
"Hello, George. I won't take much of your time. I'm calling about the Grayson cas
e." He waited. June could hear someone on the other end of the line talking, but she couldn't make out what he said.
"Yeah, well, I'm with the Premier Insurance investigator, and—" He stopped, apparently interrupted. "Yeah, she is a bit of a yapping terrier."
June's face went hot with fury.
"Still, she's got some suspicions, and they seem valid to me." Eddie picked up a pencil and began rotating it. "I know. Closed case. Suicide. But there are things that have me wondering."
He pulled out his canister of PEZ and popped one out, playing with it while he talked. "I'm not trying to be a pain in your ass, George. I just wanna look into it. I'm gonna head over to Laurel Canyon and look around. You got a problem with that?"
The PEZ went into his mouth. "Good. Yeah, I'll tell you if I find anything. G'bye, George."
Eddie placed the receiver back on the hooks and sucked on his candy for a minute.
June couldn't help herself. She knew she should be quiet and controlled, but she said, "I am not a yapping terrier, and I resent that remark, you jerk."
"You're overflowing with good will today, June. Or are you simply not a morning person?"
"I had my coffee. Alone. Not that you'd care. I'm as much a morning person as you are."
"Sheath your claws, dragon lady." He rose and got his hat. "I want to get over to Elizabeth Grayson's place and take a look around."
June stood. "So do I. You drive."
He didn't say another word to her, just opened the door to his office and strolled out. "We'll be at Mrs. Grayson's place, Fran. Take messages."
Fran shot June a resentful look and June frowned. That tart of a secretary was making herself a thorn in June's side.
The woman's voice was soft, helpful, when she said, "Yeah, Eddie. Will do."
June had the childish urge to mimic Fran, but she held back for once.
They left the office and got in Eddie's car. Before he started it, he looked over at June. "What's the address?"
June sat stonily. She really didn't want to talk to him, though she knew they couldn't navigate to the Grayson home unless she told him the address. Let him wait a minute.
His voice was stern when he said, "June, give me the address."
"Hmph." Her purse clasp stuck for a moment but it came undone finally, and June rummaged around, looking for her notepad and, she hoped, the address. Once she found the pad, she thumbed through it until she found what she was looking for. Resentfully, she tore off the page and tossed it at Eddie. Maintaining her cold demeanor was hard, when all she really wanted to do was look over at him and see what his reaction was to her chill.
She didn't have to look at him; his voice said it all. "What the hell is wrong with you, woman? Are you asking me to paddle your behind again?"
"You can't hurt me, Eddie Strong. I know how to defend myself."
"You seem plenty defensive already!"
This time, she did look at him. His face was a thundercloud, dark eyebrows slashing toward the bridge of his nose, mouth tight and lips compressed. June wished she hadn't turned her head. Eddie was intimidating under the best circumstances. Angry, and he was downright scary. "What if I am?"
Eddie tucked the little piece of paper with the address on it in his suit jacket breast pocket and opened his car door. "We're going back to my office."
"But, I thought we were going to Elizabeth Grayson's place!"
Turning back to her while he was exiting the car, he said, "We are. But we need to settle something first."
June's tummy got hot, like acid indigestion. She had a feeling she knew what that meant, and there were parts of her, particularly the sitting parts, that were not thrilled by her idea. The passenger car door opened, and Eddie gestured her out.
"Don't make me drag you, June."
"I don't want to go. You go and do whatever you intended and I'll wait here." It was a gambit, but she had to try.
"Not on your life. Out of the car, toots."
"No."
Eddie reached in and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the car and onto the sidewalk. His forceful nature got the attention of a couple walking by, but they didn't say anything. Their stares and shaking heads were embarrassing though, so June went along with Eddie into his building and up to his office.
Fran greeted them—or more accurately, Eddie—with a smile and a look of concern. "Did you forget something, boss?"
"Yeah," he told her, dragging June into his private sanctum. "Just one thing. Go get yourself a cuppa joe, Fran."
Fran paused, but at a look from Eddie, she got up and reached for her purse. "Okay, Eddie. I'll be back in five minutes."
"Take ten."
A nod, and then the woman took her hat and coat and left the office. It was obvious that she was hesitant because she didn't trust the situation, but she was loyal and dutiful, so she left. June could have slapped her. Without Fran in the outer room, Eddie could spank her silly and no one would be the wiser.
June resisted his pull on her arm, digging in the heels of her pumps. The linoleum floor did nothing for her. Eddie, however, had lost his patience and let go of her arm, taking her by the ear instead.
"Ouch!"
"You're a brat, June. You know what brats get."
They went into the small inner office and Eddie shut and locked the door, letting her go for a moment. He went directly to his desk and removed a ruler. One smack on his palm and June knew she was in for it. She felt the blood drain from her face.
"I'm sorry, Eddie. I'm mad at you is all."
"If you're mad, you might want to tell me why." He smacked the ruler on his palm again and June backed up until she bumped into the door.
The last thing she wanted to admit was her jealousy about Fran, so she chose her initial reason for being peeved. "The note you left. It was so cavalier."
"What's got into you? It was just a note."
"It was terse. It was cold. 'More later, toots, we have somewhere to go'? You don't see anything wrong with that?"
"No. I was saying I wanted to do it again, but that we had a case to work on. What did you think it said?"
June deflated. This was a pure misunderstanding. She had thought, with Eddie's bad-boy demeanor, that he was treating it like it was a one-night stand. "I thought you were giving me the kiss-off." She'd been convinced of that when she saw Eddie and Fran nearly rubbing noses. Maybe she'd taken it all wrong. "I'm sorry."
"This whole tantrum is about the note? Why didn’t you just ask me? Why all the drama? I would have told you and all this could have been left on the curb with the garbage.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Let's see about that. Pull up your skirt and lower your underwear. You jumped to all the wrong conclusions and this is your reward."
"But, Eddie—"
He stepped around her toward his desk, opening the drawer to put the ruler away. "I see you won't be needing my services on the case anymore, Miss Tarryton."
"No! Wait!" She did need him, but not just for the case. June had more to explore with Eddie Strong, and she was willing to pay for her stupid mistaken judgment. Anyway, she was determined to brave it out. If Eddie was a real person, she wanted to know him better. He was a magnet for her, despite his rough look and rougher manners. Putting down her purse, June took small steps, showing as much courage as she could manage. The desk was close, so she didn't have to go far. Following his orders, she lifted her narrow mustard-colored skirt up to her waist and lowered her frilly white panties to her knees. He hadn't told her to remove her garter belt and stockings, so she positioned herself with hands on the desk and waited.
Eddie considered her for a moment. June thought he might not spank her. She was so confused! Did she really want to be spanked? Was Eddie Strong so important to her that she'd take whatever he deemed appropriate?
For the moment, the answer to both questions was yes. So she held her breath until he once again withdrew the ruler from the drawer and walked around the desk.
Onc
e behind her, he gave her bottom a quick tap with the wood. It was hardly a touch and June thought maybe this was ceremonial rather than a real punishment. That notion lasted about five seconds, because without any more preliminaries, Eddie drew back his arm and whacked her with the ruler. Hard. She cringed. The pain was unpleasant, but she was determined to take it.
Another spank followed the first, and then a dozen more. By the sixth, she was gasping; by the twelfth, she was beginning to sob. Eddie wasn't stopping, though, with twelve. The count rose to fifteen, and June was sobbing louder.
"Next time you want to make me out to be a cad, you tell me first. Don't automatically think the worst of me."
"I'm sorry," she said around her cries of pain.
"You're sorry because you're being punished. Not because you were wrong."
"No! Really! I'm sorry." A half dozen more slaps landed on her butt. It was on fire now, jolting her through and through as the awful ruler fell.
"Are you sure, June? Because I don't want this to happen again."
"Yes. I'm sure!" June tried to control her blubbers, but she was crying full force and the words got stuck in her mouth.
The spanking stopped. "Okay." He tossed the ruler on the desk. "Come here."
June wanted his arms around her, wanted him to forgive her for misjudging him, wanted to take up where they'd left off the night before. She didn't even try to pull up her panties, she wriggled her way to him and pressed her face against his lapel. He held her tight.
Eddie smelled like pure soap and wool suit. She could smell the starch in his shirt, and his tie was silk under her hand. He petted her hair and made little comforting sounds.
"No more waterworks, June. We're done with that. You won't go and make the same mistake again, will you?"
"No, Eddie. I promise." Her sobs had abated and some sense had returned to her. "I'm really sorry. Can we do it again? Like we did last night?"
He sighed against her forehead. "I don't know what you see in my ugly face, but if you'll have me, we'll do it again. Not so fast as before." June could hear the smile in his voice.
"No," she said. "Not so fast as before." She tilted her head back to put a little kiss on his chin. "Though it was kinda nice."
Eddie, My Love Page 4
