Pure Punishment

by T. L Smith

  A song comes on and Julia screams in happiness and pulls me close so our hips start swaying together. I know the song. I smile at the thought of actually knowing the words. It’s ‘Don’t Cha’, one of the Pussycat Dolls songs. It makes my body take over all on its own. My hips start swinging. I start dropping lower when a certain part of the song comes on. I’ve completely lost all thought of Julia and can’t believe I’m having this much fun. That song rolls into another and the next thing I know, Julia is standing in front of me with a tray full of shot glasses. She places one in my hand and I watch as she shoots it back and I do the same. Next thing I know I’ve had four shots, and my body is losing control to the rhythm of the music blaring through the speakers.

  Julia attempts to drag me off the floor at one stage, but I don’t let her and stand my ground. She shrugs her shoulders and takes off, telling me not to move. Not much longer after she’s left, someone else taps my shoulder. As I swing around, the guy that was standing in front of me dancing with his friends grabs hold of my waist and pulls me to him. Now, I know I’m very drunk and possibly swaying everywhere, but I try my best to get out of his grip. When I think I’m going to have to do the worst and possibly knee him in his manhood, a fist flies past my face and straight into his jaw, sending him sailing backward. Oh, and more of my luck, his hold on me tightens, so when he falls to the floor, I go down with him.

  Next thing I know, I’m being lifted into the air and thrown over a very hard shoulder. Security comes rushing out and starts to surround us. That’s when I hear his voice and try to stop my girl parts from clenching.

  “He was touchy, throw him from the club.” The men surrounding us are quiet and I hope to God no one can see up this dress that I have on. At that thought, the stranger reaches up and pulls my dress down, grazing his fingers on the back of my thighs.

  “Yes, sir,” I hear as we start walking again.

  As soon as the cold air hits my legs, I know we’ve reached outside. It’s cold, but his body heat is keeping me warm. It doesn’t last long though because I feel his arms tighten around my waist as he slowly starts to slide me down his body to deposit me onto the ground. That’s when I get my first look at him. He has dark eyes, almost to the point of being black. There are tattoos everywhere I can see, on his neck, arms, and fingers. Plus, he is possibly one the most muscular men I’ve ever met. I feel like a rag doll standing in front of him.

  “What do you want from me?” I whisper, looking into those black eyes covered by stunning eyelashes.

  “I want to know why you would put yourself in that situation. Are you that dumb?”

  Tears start to spring to my eyes. Did I want to put myself in a situation where I got manhandled? No.

  “Fuck, don’t cry, all right? I’m just trying to look out for ya. The names Kai,” he says holding out a hand.

  My heart beats so loud, I think he even heard it. He smiles at me, and in that instant, seeing those dimples on his cheeks, I think I just fell hard.

  Motor neurons can relay information at more than two hundred miles (322 kilometers) per hour.

  “Kristy,” I tell him and take his hand. He pulls it close and flips my hand so my wrist is facing him. His lips make contact on my inner wrist, the heat of his breath and the feel of his mouth is sexual. I close my eyes and think naughty thoughts, thoughts I wouldn’t usually have with a man like this. He is dangerous and not good for me at all.

  I snatch my wrist away at the last minute, but I can still feel his scorching lips, almost to the point that it burns. I start to sway, realizing I’ve had way too much alcohol and I’m not thinking straight.

  “I have to get back to my friend,” I tell him and try my best to walk a straight line away from him. I fail miserably and he catches me just before I hit the floor. His scent starts to invade me and I can smell his cologne. Cool water mixed with his natural scent and it’s turning me on. Making my mind go places it hasn’t been before. I try to pull myself away from him, but again, he smiles, keeping one hand firmly gripped to my hip and follows me back into the club.

  Once I’m in the club, I walk to the dance floor to try to find Julia, but I can’t seem to locate her anywhere. Kai’s hand is still attached and hasn’t left me. I begin to think I will have to venture home by myself, when I hear her voice coming from behind me.

  “There you are, Sugar, thought I lost ya,” she says, pulling me closer till she realizes I can’t move because someone is holding me in place. “Wow, you outdid yourself with this one. He’s mighty fine with all that big muscle. I bet you could go all night?” She grabs hold of his bicep and gives it a squeeze. I drop my head in shame.

  “I could, but only one person would have the privilege to know that.” Shit, his voice is right near my ear and it feels like he’s talking to me. I look up at Julia and see her fanning herself down with her own hand. Okay, maybe that wasn’t just for me.

  “Oh shit, take me now and have your way with me,” she says, dramatically holding out her hands in an attempt to be arrested. I hear his slight chuckle. He is so close to me that I can’t think straight.

  “Sorry love, not going to happen. I’ve found myself a beauty right here.” His hand gives a little squeeze on my waist as he’s referring to me and, for some reason, I think I’m dreaming.

  “Fuck, okay. Do you have any brothers? This girl needs to get off.”

  Oh my God, seriously, she doesn’t even know him and she’s asking that question. My cheeks start to blush and I can feel the burn making my face glow red.

  “No, I don’t, but I think a girl like you needs a real man to handle her. Try Jimmy the bouncer.” Kai nods to the front where the bouncer is standing watching Julia with eager eyes. He let us in so easily before and I wondered why? Now I know.

  Julia huffs and takes off toward Jimmy. I watch as his eyes light up as she struts toward him. I don’t know her situation fully, but I wonder how she has sex.

  I try to think of a plan to break free from this death grip Kai has on me so I can escape back to the confines of my apartment. Just the thought makes me feel like being sick. Shit, I’ve had way too much to drink.

  “I need to use the bathroom,” I say, not facing Kai. His hand lifts from my waist and I make a beeline straight for the nearest toilet I can find. Just as I reach it, I slam the stall closed and collapse in front, bringing up everything I’ve had for the night. I sit for a good few minutes till I hear a ruckus in the bathroom.

  “You can’t be in here,” one lady screams.

  “This is for women, you tool,” another voice screams.

  “Fuck, you want to do the naughty in the toilets?”

  Oh God, I know who it is without moving. My stall door is kicked open and I don’t even look up to see if it’s him. I can smell him. His scent is so strong and it’s making me horny.

  He leans down and pulls my hair away from my face. I try to shoo him away and for that I get a throaty laugh. He then proceeds to pick me up like a child and carry me out. I try to tell him to put me down, but he doesn’t listen. He just keeps walking without even a word from his lips. He walks, without putting me down, to a truck. I would not be able to reach the handle on my own, it’s so huge.

  He swings the door open and places me on the seat. I go to give him my address and he shushes me with a finger to my lips.

  “No, can do. You can’t stay by yourself in the state you are in, so you’ll be staying at my place. I’ll take you home in the morning after you have had sleep and food… preferably in that order.”

  “I don’t know you. I’m not staying with you. Take me home or I’ll walk.” I give him my best serious smile, but he doesn’t take me seriously.

  “Nope, you will be going where I stay.” With that, he slams the door in my face, then walks around to the driver’s side and climbs in. He looks me over and I look at him, really look at him. He’s so manly, with a strong jaw line and a bit of scruff on his face from his facial hair. He has hair that’s just long enough and he
’s dressed in a red shirt and dark denim jeans. His muscles are rippling through his clothes and tattoos are covering so many places that I wonder where else they are.

  “Why are you helping me?” I ask, not taking my eyes from him.

  “Someone needs to look out for you since you can’t seem to do it yourself.” His eyes stay trained on the road. I start to shiver at his words and realize it’s because the cool night air is hitting my skin that’s barely covered with only a flimsy black little dress. I try to pull it down when all of a sudden I’m pulled over to his warm body and enfolded in his intoxicating smell again. His hand rests on my thigh. I watch as his eyes travel down to his hand then back up again watching the road.

  He doesn’t speak to me for the rest of the ride. He has left me contemplating his weird attitude and his kindness. Then I get lost in his touch and lay my head on his shoulder that’s providing me warmth.

  My last thought before my heavy eyelids take over is how does he know I have no one? Is it out of pity that he’s helping me? I really hope it’s not, because I think I’m falling for a stranger.

  The structure of your brain changes every time you learn, as well as whenever you have a new thought or memory.

  I wake with a kink in my neck; it’s so sore. I try to crack it from side to side and I get a sharp pain radiating through it. I give up and lay my head back down. I look to my side and don’t recognize anything in this room. Where the hell am I? I look down at my body and notice I have on a very large man's shirt that comes all the way down to my knees. I pull the shirt up and touch between my legs. Relief washes over me when I feel the fabric of the underwear I had on last night.

  I crane my neck from side to side, trying to be as gentle as I can to look around the room. Everything I can see is black. The sheets I’m lying on are black, the curtains are black and even the bed is black. I sit up in an attempt to go find a bathroom and that’s when the door to my right swings open. In walks Kai, the ruggedly handsome man from last night. He’s naked, literally naked. I grab the sheet and pull it over my body, covering myself from the view. He laughs at me.

  The sound of the laugh has me dropping the sheet so I can look at him. His backside is now in view. Wow, and what a backside to have. I look at him now, really look at him, while his back is turned. He has tattoos covering his whole back, angel wings across his shoulders. There’s a cross in the middle of the wings with writing. Colorful images cover him. I want to walk closer and read and learn all that is inked into his skin. It may give me a better idea of who he is and why he feels the need to help me.

  My eyes start traveling lower and my legs begin to tighten. His behind is hard and looks as soft as a baby’s bottom. My eyes travel further, down to his muscled legs and I think they are probably the size of both my thighs together. He even has tattoos covering his calves. My eyes drift back up to his impeccable behind and then he turns around and I’m met with an eyeful of cock and balls. I blush and pull the sheet higher, not willing to accept what I just I saw. Something that would possibly split me in two.

  “No need to be shy, Nani.”

  I drop the blanket and look at him strangely. “You know that’s not my name, right?”

  He laughs at me again. I stand up and take the sheet with me, going straight for the bathroom he just exited, with the sound of his laugh following me.

  “I know your name, Nani. I just prefer to use my own language.” I slam the door and wonder what the hell he’s talking about. As I stand from the toilet, the door swings open and in walks Kai wearing only a pair of shorts.

  “Get out! Haven’t you heard of knocking?” He smiles at me and hands over my dress.

  “I washed it for you, since it was covered in your spew. Now get your ass dressed. I’m hungry.” He slams the door on his way out.

  I change into the same dress I was wearing last night and pull my boots on. As soon as I’m done, I walk out of the bathroom and into what I’m guessing is his bedroom. He’s sitting on the bed waiting for me, playing with his cell. He looks up, throws my handbag at me and stands to leave. I follow him out and realize his apartment is quite large, almost like a loft, though I can only see the one bedroom. A thought pops into my mind and I have to ask him, even if it embarrasses me.

  “Where did you sleep last night?”

  He stops and grabs his keys from the black counter, then turns to face me with a smile edging on his lips.

  “Exactly where you did.”

  Oh no. I guessed that, but I was just hoping I was wrong. I hope nothing happened.

  “Nothing happened, Nani. You passed out and I took that thing you call a dress off,” he says, pointing to what I’m wearing. “Now, no more silly questions. I was the perfect gentlemen, considering I’m not very gentlemanly, that is,” he adds with a wink and walks out the door.

  We drive for a good ten minutes in silence, neither of us saying a word. I don’t look at him once and keep my eyes peeled gazing out of the window. I have weird feelings floating around in my head for him, my body wanting the impossible.

  “Are you going to daydream all day or get out so I can feed you?” I didn’t even realize we’d stopped. I look ahead and see the familiar blue logo that represents IHOP. I don’t face him as I open the door and step out. It’s quite a massive step and I’m afraid of breaking my ankle with theses shoes on.

  “What is it with you men thinking you need to feed me?” I mutter under my breath.

  “Who else are you seeing?” Kai walks up to me and grabs hold of my arm, spinning me around to face him. He has a look on his face that scares me.

  “No one,” I whisper, to which his grip loosens, but doesn’t leave.

  “Don’t lie, Nani. You aren’t very good at it.” With that, he pulls me into the restaurant and we take a seat at the back in a booth away from prying eyes.

  We look over the menu in silence. One hundred questions are running through my mind.

  How does he know me?

  How do all these men I seem to meet lately know who I am?

  Why did he take me home last night?

  Why did he sleep in the same bed as me?

  I know I’m not ugly, I just wouldn’t call myself beautiful. Thomas may have called me beautiful, but he had ulterior motives. Julia calls me beautiful, but I think she may have a few screws loose in her head, so I don’t believe her.

  “Stop thinking, it’s distracting,” he says in a rough tone and doesn’t look up to me. Just then the waitress decides to come over. She looks at me and smiles, but when she sees Kai, I see her attitude change from friendly to flirting. She asks him what he wants and he doesn’t even spare her a glance. He continues looking at the menu, still deciding.

  “I’ll have pancakes with syrup,” I tell her. She looks back to me, obviously wanting Kai to reply first and is disappointed when he doesn’t.

  Kai orders a plate that has a bit of everything on it. He turns, offering the menu to her without offering her a smile. I see her face drop and she storms off as Kai focuses his attention back to me.

  “We are going out Sunday night.” I look around to make sure he’s talking to me and sure enough he is.

  “I have plans,” I say as the lie falls from my mouth.

  “You’re not a very good liar, so don’t even try. Oh, and another thing, don’t fucking lie to me again.” Just then our plates are set down in front of us and he automatically digs in. I look at him in disbelief at the way he spoke to me.

  “I told you to stop thinking. Start eating.”

  “You’re not the boss of me,” I say defensively.

  “No, but you need to start feeling and stop thinking. Your brain doesn’t stop. Maybe if you actually took some advice, you wouldn’t over analyze everything and be so depressed.” That’s it! I’m so sick of men thinking they know best. I stand to leave, but he pulls me toward him and straight onto his lap. His breath is hot on my neck.

  “I only want what’s right, you need to understand that.”
<
br />   Goo, he turns me into goo.

  Approximately twenty percent of the blood flowing from the heart is pumped to the brain.

  The cool air of the night hits my exposed skin with each step I take. My shirt rides up, but it doesn’t bother me in the least. I have no plans for tonight, no games to play. So, as I stand out front of a familiar pub, I wonder if I should try my luck and see if he’s in there tonight.

  Just before I enter, I pull my blonde wig tighter to my head, hike up my breasts and open the door. I know why I came here tonight. I’m just hoping he’s here. I look around the bar and see him sitting in the same spot as last time, drink in hand. I move over to him and nod my head to the bartender for the same drink he’s drinking. I turn toward him.

  I know he knows I’m here, he’s just chosen not to acknowledge me, yet. I let my hand slide over his thigh, extremely close to something I desperately want to touch. He captures my hand as it makes it way closer his cock.

  “You’re a glutton for punishment, aren’t you?” his voice turns me on even more. I nod my head, remembering how he wanted me subservient last time. Being subservient, however, is not in my nature.

  “Why are you here, Kayla?” He removes my hand completely and places it on the bar in front of me, diminishing all contact between us.

  “I want you.” I lean closer to him, but he looks at me very strangely, his lips pressed flat, with his narrowed eyes zoning in on me.

  “You don’t. You want the idea of me, not actually me,” His voice is stern.

  “So, as long as I get what I want, I’ll be happy. Hell, even you will be happy. That I can guarantee.”