by Amy Briggs
“Well played, King. Well fucking played. You do you. Or my sister, for that matter, and I shall… as you say, mind my own business where it comes to that. But, I will have you know two things.” She stood up, raising two fingers at me.
“Okay, what are they?” I gave her a genuine smile.
“Number one, the topic of you not being a writer is a ‘to be continued’ discussion. I’m not done with it. Something’s fishy and I’m gonna get to the bottom of it,” she replied with resolve, but appeared to be willing to table it for the moment, which was good enough for me.
“And what is number two?” I asked.
“Number two is, if you break my sister’s heart, I’m going to stab you in yours with a drumstick. You feel me?” She looked and sounded completely serious, and I believed her. As tiny as she was, I was pretty sure she’d fuck someone up, if she really wanted to.
“We’re clear,” I replied, smirking at her just enough to get a similar glance in return. It seemed that Carmen and I had developed somewhat of an understanding now as well.
“What’s on your mind?” Ryan asked as he pulled me close, kissing the top of my head. We had checked into our rooms in New Orleans late the night before, and spent the night together like we’d been doing the last three weeks. We hadn’t discussed what was going on between us in any real or official way, but he fucking owned me. In that short period of time on the road, we’d spent every night together, shared so many stolen moments in secret, and had managed to fuck just about everywhere you could imagine.
“Just enjoying the moment,” I replied wistfully. I wasn’t looking for any kind of real commitment, and neither of us had the time to be screwing around with other people the way our arrangement had played out thus far, but I did wonder what he thought. What would happen when the tour ended? I knew it wasn’t the time to question, it was time to enjoy; something I hadn’t done in so long, and I forgot how intoxicating it could be.
As he ran his fingers through my hair, I examined his tattoos, gently running my fingertips over the designs on his chest, smiling. Laying there naked with him, his firm body next to mine, I felt protected. Like I could be free for the first time in as long as I could recall.
Ryan tilted my chin up toward him, stealing a tender kiss. “There’s something I think you need to know,” he said seriously.
My eyes widened, wondering what bomb he was about to drop; thinking the worst, as always. “What is it?” I said softly.
“I want you to know that I’d never let anyone, or anything, hurt you,” he said.
Confused by his statement, I scrunched up my face. “What do you mean?” I asked.
“I mean, no matter what happens. With us, with anything – I’m not going to let you get hurt. I care about you, Miranda,” he said bluntly. “I care about you in a way… well, in a way I’m not sure how to describe, but it’s more than what you think.”
Relieved he wasn’t pumping the brakes on whatever it was we had, a smile formed on my lips. “And how, Mr. King, do you know what I think?” I teased, skimming my hand along his torso.
“I just know. And as far as I’m concerned, this doesn’t have to be a secret, you know.” He added.
Shock replaced my smile, as my jaw fell open. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell people what we’re up to, in the middle of this tour.”
“I’m not saying I think it’s a good idea. What I’m saying is that it doesn’t have to be a secret if it bothers you. I’d shout from the rooftops how I feel about you.” Ryan’s hand drifted back to playing with my hair, while his gaze scanned my face.
Still surprised, and blushing from his implication, I replied, “I’m not ready to share whatever this is with the world,” I said pausing for a moment. “I like having you all to myself.”
He rolled over, hovering above me with a grin that could light up a town. “I like it that way too, babe,” he answered before burying his face in my neck, kissing my shoulder, and running his tongue along the spot where they met. His stubble had grown into a soft, blond beard in the last few weeks, and as it brushed against my neck, it both tickled, and stirred up my need for him. We were already naked from our first round, and had meant to go to sleep, but as round two began, any thoughts of being tired vanished when his lips made their way down to my chest. As he took one of my nipples in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it, I gasped slightly. That sensation was one of my favorite things, and there were many delicious things he could do with that tongue.
I could feel the warmth between my legs as I reached for him, pulling him down to me. He grabbed a condom from the table next to us, and quickly rolled it over his enormous cock. He then turned his attention to my other nipple, sending a jolt to my core. As he kneaded and massaged my chest, giving a slight pinch to the unattended nipple, he worked his way back up to my lips, kissing me deeply, passionately. As if he’d sucked all the air from my lungs, I gasped as he thrust into me. Waiting a moment, he kissed me again, gently licking my lower lip before biting it softly. Then he began to fuck me slowly, teasing me.
“Do you know what you do to me?” he growled into my neck, thrusting his cock in as deep as he could, hitting all the right spots, making me speechless.
“No,” I huffed out, beginning to pant with need. I wanted him to go faster, to fuck me harder, but he was taking his time with me, and my entire body was shaking.
“You consume me,” he whispered, thrusting slowly into me again, pushing himself in further. I couldn’t reply; hell, I could barely think. He pushed himself up on his elbows, looking down at me, slowly sliding his cock in and out of my drenched pussy. “You’re so wet, Miranda. You’re wet for me,” he grinned, still teasing me as he pulled out, but not quite all the way. Holding himself up with one arm, his other hand ran over my breast, pinching my nipple again, and rubbing it softly with the pad of his thumb as he moved his hand down to the spot we were connected. He began rubbing my clit with his thumb gently, his cock continuing to hit the spot that sent me over the edge.
“Fuck!” I yelled out, as he teased me. On the brink of ecstasy, I could barely stand it as my hips began to rock into him.
“Stay still,” he demanded.
“I can’t,” I whined, desperate for my release as he continued his delicious torture of my body.
“Tell me what you want, Miranda,” he whispered. “What do you want me to do?”
My knees were bent slightly, and as I looked down at him, playing with my clit, teasing me with the tip of his beautiful cock, my inner whore yelled out, “Fuck me, Ryan! Fuck me hard!”
“With pleasure,” he replied, as he fell above me, thrusting into me with fervor. “You feel so fucking good, Miranda. Is this what you wanted?” He was almost panting as his cock pummeled into me, sending shockwaves through my system.
“Yes!” I shouted, taking every inch of him as he pounded into me. Within moments, I was falling over the edge into my climax, screaming out his name while my entire body shook.
Not done with me yet, he rolled me over on top of him and sat up, holding me in place. “Now fuck me, Miranda.” He grabbed my hips, grinding me into him, slowly and deeply. I let him guide me along his cock while I recovered from my last orgasm before taking over, rolling my hips to meet his, harder and faster, feeling another one coming myself. I felt his cock stiffen inside me, and as he reached his climax, he groaned my name, holding himself inside me as deep as he could, grasping my hips tightly.
Both of us shaking almost uncontrollably, he lifted me gently and I laid down beside him. “I thought we were going to sleep,” I sighed out, still catching my breath.
“We can go to sleep now,” he laughed. “Or we can go again, if you want.”
“Uh no! I’m spent! Are you kidding me?” There was absolutely no way I could go again. None.
“I am kidding. Now get over here and kiss me before you fall asleep on me, woman,” .He tugged at me lovingly.
After kissing him goodnight, I rolled to my s
ide, letting him spoon me. I may not know exactly what we had together, but whatever it was, it was fantastic, and sleeping with him had become almost restorative. I felt well rested, protected and happy when I woke up those mornings next to him.
The next morning, I heard her taking a shower in her room when I woke up. Tossing some boxers on, I walked through our adjoining door and stopped when I heard her singing the words to a song I recognized, .She was softly singing Heart’s classic hit “Alone”. I’d intended to join her in the shower, but instead, leaned against the wall, listening. Her sultry voice became louder as she hit the high notes, sending chills through me.
When I heard the water turn off, I snuck back to my room, leaving the door open. Pretending to be getting organized, or trying to create the illusion I wasn’t entranced by her voice, she never noticed I’d been in her room. She poked her head through the doorway, catching my eye.
“Morning, beautiful,” I said, taking her in as she stood in front of me in nothing but a towel.
“You’re awake!” she exclaimed cheerfully.
“I am, indeed. Did you have a good shower?” I grinned.
“Yes, thank you. I’m going to go downstairs and have breakfast with my sister. You’re more than welcome to join us, if you’d like.”
Normally, I would have said yes, because I didn’t want her to be far from me, but this time, since she was just meeting her sister downstairs, I decided to shower and let her go on her own. It had been weeks since we’d had any contact from her stalker, and while that may not mean anything, she wouldn’t be alone.
“I’m going to let you two have some girl time. Why don’t you have her meet you up here?” I suggested, thinking that would cover the five minutes she’d be alone going to the elevator.
“She is already in the lobby, waiting for me. She’s turning into quite the early bird, it seems,” Miranda replied. “I’m just gonna throw some clothes on and go. I’ll be fine. You have nothing to worry about.”
Crossing the room to her, I kissed her on the forehead. “I will always worry about you. I told you last night; you’re special to me, Miranda. So, just be careful.”
I had an uneasy feeling, but I couldn’t be in two places at once, and I needed to get ready for the day out at the venue, and the show tonight. Being with her, and watching her, all while creating the illusion I was just hanging around got a little tricky in these situations. It was only five minutes tops, and then she’d be safe with her sister. I’d never convince her not to go, and that wasn’t the point of the undercover gig anyway. She was supposed to be able to lead a normal life.
I kissed her goodbye and took the fastest shower possible, forgoing a shave. I was into the beard that was growing anyway, and Miranda seemed to like it too. She had run her fingers through it several times, which I loved. I opted for the ankle holster that day, and after checking my gun, like I did every day, I put it on under my jeans. Quickly, I got the rest of my shit together, and headed down to the lobby for coffee, and to keep an eye on the girls, of course.
I could hear the yelling before the elevator doors opened, and I knew it was Carmen. Running out as soon as the doors would allow, I turned the corner to find Miranda holding what looked like a shoebox, tears streaming down her face, while Carmen screamed at a man in a hotel uniform.
“What’s going on here?” I shouted, as I ran toward them.
Miranda’s eyes, red from crying, shifted from the box she was holding, to me. My instinct was to sweep her into my arms, taking her away from whatever the fuck was going on, but I kept as calm as possible. She lifted the box, handing it to me.
Inside was a doll. A fucking Voodoo doll. It looked exactly like her, and had a pin through its heart, with another stuck directly in its throat. As I examined more closely, it had red hairs attached to it; actual hairs that looked like Miranda’s. Someone had taken her hair from somewhere to use with the doll.
“What the fuck is this?” I demanded, looking at Carmen and the hotel manager.
“Sir, calm down,” the manager said in a hushed tone.
“Where the fuck did this come from?” I demanded, my heart pounding in my chest.
“Someone left it for her at the front desk,” Carmen replied. “Nobody seems to have any fucking clue where it came from, though, which is what you are witnessing now.”
“This was left for her at the front desk?” I shook the box at the manager.
“Sir, we take packages for guests all the time. This was nothing out of the ordinary. What’s inside is, well… it’s unfortunate, but there is nothing we can do about it,” he replied in a hushed tone, trying to diffuse the situation.
“Has anyone called the cops?” I asked, looking around. As my eyes landed on Miranda, she was frozen in place, almost catatonic. Handing the box to Carmen swiftly, I rushed to Miranda’s side. “Miranda? Are you okay? Talk to me.” I tried to get her to look at me, but she was completely still, and silent.
“I just called them, they’re on their way,” Carmen replied quietly, seeing the gravity of Miranda’s reaction.
I shuffled Miranda over to an overstuffed, cushioned bench nearby, and kneeled down in front of her. “Miranda? Look at me.”
Her face tilted up, and with a quivering lip, a single tear fell from her eye. Sweeping it away, I said, “It’s going to be okay. I’m here.” I paused. “Your sister is here too. We’re going to get to the bottom of this.”
“Someone stole my hair and made a Voodoo doll of me, Ryan,” she whispered, another tear falling.
“Did you see anyone watching you? Did anything weird happen after you left your room?” I asked, looking around myself.
Shaking her head, she replied, “I didn’t see anyone. Carmen and I had breakfast at the hotel restaurant, and then on our way back to the elevators, the concierge stopped me and said there was a package for me.”
“So, he knew who you were?”
She nodded her head. “Yeah, he called out my name.”
“No more using your real name to check into hotels anymore, alright?”
“Okay.” She nodded, wiping her eyes.
“I’m going to talk to your sister and this hotel manager. Just sit here, okay? I’ll be right over there.” I pointed the ten feet away, where her sister was gripping the box and arguing with the manager.
“Carmen, come here,” I said.
Pointing at the hotel manager, she stormed over to me. “What?”
“Let me see this box again,” I demanded.
“Here.” She handed it to me. “Who the fuck would do something like that? It’s creepy as fuck, and I’m just gonna tell you right now that if her throat starts hurting, we’re going to see a witch doctor to get this shit fixed.” She looked up, sighing and running her hands through her long hair. “Only in fucking New Orleans. I hate this fucking place. It’s got way too much bad juju.”
“Go sit with her and wait for the cops. We’ll get this sorted out. Have you called your father yet?”
“No, it hadn’t even occurred to me, honestly. Would you do it? I don’t feel like answering a thousand questions right now,” she replied.
“Yeah, of course after we talk to the cops,” I replied.
As Carmen walked off to comfort Miranda, my fury, coupled with my impatience, festered. At first, I had only noticed the doll in the box, but there was a note underneath it. When I pulled it out to read it, my temper escalated tenfold. It read, You belong with me, or with nobody. What the fuck kind of person does this to a woman…to my woman? When I found the guy, he was going to regret the day he ever laid eyes on her.
I agreed with Carmen wholeheartedly. I was never a fan of New Orleans, and the Voodoo history it had. It was fucking creepy, and while I didn’t know enough about it to believe in it, I didn’t know enough about it to not believe it in either. Glancing around the lobby, there were people milling about. They’d moved on from the scene that had just occurred, going about their vacations and whatnot, when I spotted Travis at
the front desk. I placed the lid back on the box and stormed over to him.
“Travis!” I exclaimed.
“Oh hey, Ryan, how’s it going?”
“What?” I replied, assuming he knew exactly how it was going.
“Uh, I said, how’s it going? I just got here,” he replied, confused.
“You just got here?” I asked, confused myself. I had started to pin him as my stalker, but if he had just arrived, that wasn’t very likely.
“Yea. Leo and I stayed in Tampa a little longer and took our time getting here. Not the most scenic route, but we figured we had a little time on our hands, so why not. What’s going on? You alright?”
Well, fuck. If he and Leo had just gotten to town, he wasn’t my guy. That doll had her fucking hair on it. There was no way he could have gotten away with delivering that to the front desk. Even if he had someone do it, there’s little to no chance that someone in New Orleans would deliver a Voodoo doll for him. It simply wasn’t likely. “Yeah, yeah. I’m alright. Sorry. Just a weird morning,” I replied.
“Oh yeah? What’s going on?” he asked me, seeming genuinely interested.
I let my guard down a bit, but still tried to cover up what was going on. “Ah, you know those girls. They can be kind of volatile. Just a crazy morning with them today.”
Laughing, he said, “Oh, I hear ya. I’ve known them forever. Couldn’t agree more.” I laughed along with him, holding the box at my side in a death grip, not acknowledging its existence.
“Well, it’s been a long night. I’m gonna go say hi to the girls and then get a nap in.” The hotel clerk handed Travis his key, and pointed toward the elevators.
“Uh, maybe you should wait to see the girls. There was an incident this morning,” I said.
