Hummingbird

by Nathan L. Flamank

  ‘You gonna be quiet if I let you up?’

  Selena licked her lips, she could still taste Jack in her mouth and on her lips.

  ‘I’ll be whatever you tell me to be,’ Selena said in a quiet voice and even to her own ears she picked up on the humility and subservience in her tone and she wondered what it meant for her going forward.

  ‘Fine then, put my cock away and then you can sit up.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘You’re welcome,’ Jack said and Selena did as he’d instructed.

  *****

  The warmth of the sun on her eyes slowly brought Selena out of her deep slumber and she opened her eyes and blinked. She moaned sleepily and rolled away from the sun’s intrusive glare.

  When did I purchase blinds for the bedroom? She asked herself, the fog of sleep still clouding her ability to process. God I hate mornings.

  Selena rolled on to her back and stretched her arms and legs and yawned, her head felt heavy and she put this down to the vast quantities of alcohol that she had consumed the previous day and with the memory of her alcohol consumption, the previous day’s events came flooding back in to her consciousness like a dam finally breaking and its waters breaking free and she bolted up in the bed and looked around at her surroundings.

  As she took in the décor she quickly realised that she was not in her own apartment, this room was too nice to be hers; oak floors that had been sanded and lovingly varnished, the walls painted a warm vanilla, the Tim Flach prints on the walls and the wooden blinds that allowed the light through were all meticulously well-kept and Selena couldn’t see a speck of dirt or dust anywhere.

  Selena pushed the white cotton sheets from her lap, she was naked and as she swung her body around to the left she saw that the wall now opposite her had two doors in it and she stood up; the wooden floor felt cool beneath her bare feet and she padded across to the first door and opened it; the door opened on to a large walk-in closet and she could see her suitcases neatly stashed in one corner, her clothes including her lingerie and various pairs of boots and shoes had already been stowed away on shelves and rods and from the back of the door that she held open with her left hand was a hook and from this hook hanged a lingerie set, she glanced down at her feet and noticed the pair of black thigh high boots that she had packed.

  A yellow post-it note was resting on one boot and Selena bent down and picked the note up, she read the message that was neatly written on the square of bright yellow; she recognised the neat script as belonging to Jack.

  ‘Take a shower, fix your make-up and then get dressed in what is hanging on the door, the boots are not optional, come downstairs when you’re ready, and don’t keep me waiting, Jack.’ Selena scrunched the post-it note up in one hand and dropped it on the floor.

  ‘Asshole,’ she said but she knew that she’d do as he’d instructed. ‘I belong to him,’ she added as she went to the other door and discovered a large en-suite bathroom, again it was meticulous and it took her breath away, the bathroom was all slate tiles and chrome fittings with a large open shower and Selena chuckled.

  Selena went in to the bathroom, she sat on the toilet and let go of her bladder and she peed for what felt like an hour.

  *****

  Selena checked her reflection in the full length mirror that was on the wall opposite the foot of the bed and she had to admit that she looked fucking incredible. She licked her lips and offered her reflected image a smirk.

  ‘You sucked his cock last night, you’re nothing but a whore.’

  Selena adjusted the left cup of her bra and she was surprised to discover that her nipple was hard and engorged; the areola puckered and at the touch of her fingers she felt a spark shoot to her groin and she let out a groan; she thought of Jack’s cock exploding deep down her throat and she twisted her nipple and cried out. Selena slapped a hand to her mouth to stifle her cry and she quickly finished adjusting the straps and cups of her bra.

  ‘If I’m going to be his whore, then I’m gonna be the sexiest fucking whore he’s ever had.’

  Selena took a deep steadying breath and then walked out of the bedroom, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor announcing her every step.

  Out in the hallway Selena saw more varnished flooring and earth tones on the walls and she wondered whose house Jack had brought her to. More artwork hung on the walls and as she passed them she cast quick glances at each print, she recognised more Tim Flach and at the head of the metal spiralling staircase she looked up at a huge framed photo-print; the image was highly detailed and graphic in its depiction of a woman’s genitalia and Selena saw the photographer had signed the piece and she vaguely recognised the name.

  ‘Michael Simms,’ Selena said as she took hold of the curving rail and descended two floors to the ground floor, she stepped off of the last metal stair on to an almost black in colour marble floor and again she admired the décor; each item of furnishing that she had seen so far in the house spoke of taste and wealth.

  Selena caught the unmistakable smell of freshly brewed coffee and she headed across the large open planned ground floor; she saw the kitchen off through an archway and she took a deep breath and walked in to the kitchen.

  This room was all black marble and steel; the cupboards and central island were cut square and their metal doors and base-surrounds sparkled in the light shining through one long window that ran the length of the kitchen, the window had to be twenty feet in length and ten feet in height and Selena’s breath caught in her throat at the view beyond the window.

  Selena forgot about everything, she didn’t even acknowledge Jack’s presence off to her left as she walked in under the arch; she crossed to the window and looked out on the wilds of, well, she had no idea where they were, all she could see were the tops of colossal trees stretching out from the large deck that she realised must have surrounded the house; she felt like Jane in a Tarzan story, to her it was as if the house she was in was a treehouse built amongst the canopy of an Amazonian rain forest. For miles all she could see were the tops of the trees and then the dark green met the bright blue of the sky.

  ‘My God,’ she said almost reverentially, she moved along the window until she reached the very end where there was an open door that led out on to the deck and that also allowed for a soft breeze to blow in to the kitchen and on the breeze Selena could smell the scents of this woodland wonderland.

  Without thinking Selena walked out on to the large deck, wooden planks did indeed run the length of the house and Selena stopped at the wooden railing and looked down and she quickly realised that she was standing on a walkway that extended out over the forest beneath her and she saw thick metal stilts stretching out from a cliff at a ninety degree angle to the underside of the decking and she felt her senses spin at the sudden realisation that she was standing above a drop that she gauged to be at least a hundred feet.

  Selena let out a yelp and backed across the deck and she stepped backwards in to the kitchen and she glanced down at her heeled feet and she heard Jack chuckle and she spun around to face him.

  ‘It can be a little disorientating at first,’ Jack said. ‘The house backs on to the edge of the cliff.’ Jack watched as Selena tapped her feet against the marble flooring as if testing the ground beneath her.

  Jack laughed. ‘Relax Selena, the house is firmly on terra-firma, only the decking stretches out over the cliff.’

  ‘Are we safe?’

  ‘One hundred percent, the rocks here haven’t moved in millions of years, I doubt today’ll be any different.’

  ‘Who owns this place, it’s beautiful?’

  ‘Hungry?’

  Selena had a hundred questions but at the mention of food her stomach growled and she realised that she was famished; she hadn’t eaten anything of worth since the day before yesterday and she nodded her head.

  ‘Please,’ Selena said and she started across the kitchen to a large glass-topped table, she pulled a chair out and began to sit down.

 
‘I didn’t tell you to sit down Selena, in fact I didn’t give you permission to do anything.’

  Selena glanced back at Jack and for the first time since coming in to the kitchen she looked fully at him.

  Goddamn it, he’s one sexy motherfucker, Selena allowed.

  Jack was wearing pale jeans and a grey t-shirt, the shirt showed off the cords of tight sinew and muscle in his arms and neck and the shirt clung to Jack’s toned and sculpted torso; he wasn’t muscled like some gym-freak but he had the build of a soldier and Selena figured that in many ways the word soldier was apt; he’d served his country with distinction before becoming the head of the Fat Man’s own private “army” of enforcers.

  ‘What?’ Selena asked, she’d never been the most patient of people but this was unbearable; the not knowing what was required of her was frustrating like Jack couldn’t imagine.

  ‘You don’t get to do anything without my saying so first. You want a drink? You ask for it. You want something to eat, you ask for it, you want to sit down, you ask, you want a shit, well guess what? You ask for permission, are we clear Selena? You have no say over anything, are we clear?’

  Selena felt her face go red and she had to bite back on the anger wanting so spew forth from between her tightly closed lips. Selena nodded her head.

  ‘I understand.’

  ‘Good. Now turn around, put your feet together and bend over the table, place your elbows on the glass table-top and don’t fucking move until I tell you to,’ Jack began to spoon scrambled egg on to a plate with a wooden spatula and Selena’s stomach rumbled.

  ‘You clear on what you’ve been instructed to do?’

  ‘Yes,’ Selena said sharply and she turned away from Jack and put her feet together, the heels of her thigh-high boots clicked together and she bent over the table until her elbows pressed down on the glass. The table’s surface was lower than she had expected and she knew only too well that her ass now presented itself to Jack’s gaze.

  Selena started to turn her head, to glance back at Jack but he stilled her his next words.

  ‘I fucking told you not to move, that you have no say, fuck Selena, you’re so fucking dumb that it’s un-goddamn-believable. If I wanted you to move your fucking beautiful head I’d have told you to.’

  Selena felt tears spring to her eyes but she kept her emotions in check and resumed looking straight ahead.

  At least the view is incredible, she thought as she struggled not to cry. Damn it Selena, grow a pair, you’re here because you fucked up and you fucked up big, Jack has saved you from a fate worse than death so concentrate on the task at hand and just do what he tells you when he tells you and nothing more.

  Selena saw a huge bird of prey circling high above the trees; its majestic wings spread wide as it held its position by the strong currents and she focused on the bird and after several moments she felt her urge to weep dissipate and she just settled in to the here and now.

  Jack put a plate down on the table in front of her, Selena glanced down at the steam rising from the freshly scrambled eggs and the crispy bacon criss-crossed over the yellow of the eggs and her stomach let forth a loud grumble; she really was hungry.

  Jack moved behind her and as he passed by her Selena felt his hand briefly caress the curve of her rump, it was a fleeting touch but her skin from nose to toes broke out in goose-flesh.

  God-damn-it, his touch is just as electric and gentle as I remember, Selena thought and then she shook her head to chase away the dirty thoughts circling at the edges of her consciousness.

  Selena cried out as Jack’s open hand smacked hard against her buttocks; the black silky thong that he had instructed her to wear did nothing to shield her naked cheeks from Jack’s open hand.

  ‘What was that for?’ Selena yelped.

  Jack put a knife and fork down next to her plate and Selena turned her face to look at him side-on as he rested on one hand, with his free hand he brushed her hair from her face.

  ‘Not that I need a reason to do with you as I wish, I slapped your ass because you moved your head, I didn’t give you permission to move.’

  Jack stood up straight and passed behind her, this time Selena was expecting it and when Jack’s open palm connected with her buttocks with a stinging slap Selena didn’t cry out even though she wanted to and she didn’t move even though she wanted to rub her sore buttocks.

  ‘And that was for speaking without having permission to speak.’

  Selena kept quiet as Jack poured two mugs of coffee and returned to the table, he put the mugs down and took a seat opposite Selena’s prone form.

  ‘Eat,’ Jack said as he began to tuck in to his own breakfast.

  Selena paused before asking if she could use the knife and fork.

  Jack laughed and Selena could hear the warmth in his chuckle, a warmth that had once encircled her world, her every waking moment and she felt a pang for that past, a past that she had destroyed.

  ‘I don’t expect you to use your hands.’

  ‘Can I sit down?’

  ‘You tell me?’ Jack asked with a playful grin turning the corners of his mouth.

  Selena smiled, she knew what he meant and she cleared her throat.

  ‘I know I can sit down, the question is “May I sit down”?’

  ‘No, stay exactly where you are, I’m enjoying the view.’

  Selena had to adjust he elbows on the table, bending over the glass table was not the easiest way to eat a meal but she got the hang of it and she made sure to keep her ass high in the air and her elbows never left the surface of the table as she made short work of the food in front of her and as she finished her coffee she thanked Jack.

  ‘You’re still the best cook I know,’ Selena said.

  ‘Thanks,’ Jack replied. ‘And you’re still the most stunning creature that I’ve ever seen.’

  Selena was stunned by his words, she hadn’t expected Jack’s compliment and she felt a warmth spreading between her thighs.

  Jack pushed himself up from the table.

  ‘Refill?’

  ‘Please,’ Selena said and she made sure not to move one inch as Jack fetched them both another mug of coffee.

  Once Jack was seated again she asked him if she could ask him a question.

  ‘Go for it,’ Jack replied and he took a sip of his coffee.

  ‘What are we going to do today? Where is this place? Who owns it?’

  Jack laughed.

  ‘That’s more than one question.’

  ‘I’m sorry, it’s just this is all so new, I’ve never been in this kind of situation.’

  ‘What situation is that?’ Jack asked playfully.

  Selena took a sip of the strong black coffee before saying, ‘I’ve never been someone’s captive.’

  Jack looked genuinely shocked.

  ‘Is that what you think you are? My captive?’ Jack sipped his coffee and reached for a pack of Marlboro, he lit the cigarette with his zippo, a zippo that Selena remembered from their time together; he’d had it for years, Jack had once told her where it had come from and she smiled and asked if she could have a cigarette.

  Jack lit her a cigarette and held it out to Selena. She took it and Jack stood up from the table, he picked up his coffee and headed for the open door that led out on to the vertigo-inducing balcony.

  ‘Follow me Selena, I try not to smoke too often in the house.’

  Jack walked out on to the balcony looking out at the breath-taking vista and Selena took the opportunity to stretch her arms and to work the kinks out of her back, she’d been bent over for close to half an hour and before picking up her coffee she rubbed her left hand across her buttocks.

  Selena stood next to Jack looking out at the treetops, he turned to face her and Selena inhaled deeply on the cigarette, she held the smoke in her lungs.

  ‘You’re not a captive Selena, you can leave this house whenever you so choose, if I ask you to do something and you don’t want to do it then don’t, if I propose somethin
g that you’re not prepared to see through then don’t, you can walk away whenever you like.’

  Selena expelled the held smoke through her nostrils.

  ‘But?’

  ‘But nothing,’ Jack said and he sipped his coffee and resumed looking out at the forest.

  Selena bit her bottom lip as she struggled to understand what it was that Jack had just told her.

  ‘Are you saying that the contract is done with?’

  Jack chuckled.

  ‘What I’m saying is this Selena: the contract isn’t what keeps you here, it’s your word, your willingness to honour our agreement, the mess you’re in is your doing, your salvation is in your hands, only you can decide how this all works out. Stay. Go. Win. Lose. Be free of the “Fat Man”. It’s all down to you.’

  Jack fell silent and Selena watched him as he smoked his cigarette down to the butt. He stubbed it out in a glass ashtray that he had placed on the railing.

  Selena finished her cigarette and her butt joined his. Selena finished her coffee and put the empty mug down on the flat surface of the railing.

  ‘Okay,’ Selena said.

  Jack turned to face her.

  ‘Okay?’

  Selena laughed.

  ‘I’m yours. Do with me as you see fit, I’ll honour our agreement.’

  Jack nodded his head and offered his hand. Selena shook it; neither pulled their hand away and Selena wondered if Jack could feel the electric pulses the same as she could.

  ‘What now?’ Selena asked.

  ‘Now?’ Jack asked as he stepped forwards closing the distance between them. ‘What do you think?’

  Selena chuckled, he was so close to her now, his body almost against hers and she could feel her heart rate kick up a notch as Jack’s dark eyes settled openly on her large and full and rounded breasts; the bra she was wearing was one of her many push-ups and Selena glanced down at her chest, she could see her nipples which were hard pressing against the silkiness of the bra’s cups.