Fulfilling Torment

by B. L. Purser

  After Reed had left, my mind wondered back to the beautiful woman. She was different than anyone I had ever met before, yet she was so familiar. Her eyes told a story that I wasn’t quite finished reading.

  I wasn’t sure if my brain had trouble grasping what had happened or if the finality of my leaving weighed on me, but I just couldn’t seem to shake it. I thought of her gently kissing my tattoo and my blood began to boil like it had when she initially did it. For a minute, I thought she knew…

  - Cam

  Shit, damn, shit; the nightmares were back. I’d hoped that they were gone for good. Seven days was the longest time between nightmares so far. Every day that I had awakened rested, I thanked the gorgeous brown eyed stranger. I was starting to think that he had fixed me.

  Of course, I also made sure to overexert myself each evening after work. I hoped this would help keep the nightmares away. I began my daily regimen by walking to work every morning in my business attire and tennis shoes. Once at work, I traded my shoes for stilettos. After work, I changed into workout clothes and ran. The first day, I ran through the city getting my bearings about where things were located. I found a few very promising apartment locations, a nice place to purchase groceries and household items, and a well-equipped martial art studio. Since then, I’d been taking martial art classes every evening and then running until I could no longer lift my legs. I convinced myself that the martial art classes would provide the self-defense that I so desperately needed, but in my mind I secretly hoped they would help me better channel my thoughts and dreams.

  A few times, Harper had invited me to go out with her and some others after work for drinks. She hinted that there were a few guys showing interest in the new girl. Each time, I backed out graciously. I hoped that she would get the hint and stop asking. I hated the idea that I would have to channel my inner New York bitch and tell her to screw off. I was not interested in friendships or relationships of any kind. I was alone and would be for the remainder of my days. I would never allow myself to get into that position again. I couldn’t take anymore hurt. Besides, looking in the rearview mirror ensuring that your past doesn’t catch up with you leaves little time to look toward the future.

  I had a pressing issue to deal with now that the nightmares were back. Maybe tonight would go more as planned compared to my previous incident. Even though that had turned out alright, I needed to be more in control of my actions. Thinking on the fly was how people got sloppy, and if there was one thing I wasn’t, it was sloppy.

  Bringing the event to the forefront of my mind made me think of him. I still didn’t understand the sudden change in personality, but I knew that I’d caused it. More than likely it derived from me placing a kiss on the wickedly sexy tattoo. Regardless, he’d been by far the best medicine I’d found yet. The thought of having to go on the prowl again made me nauseous, but I had little choice in the matter.

  I began preparing for the night ahead of me. This time, I chose a deep burgundy cocktail dress. I decided to focus on my lips, so I lined and painted them the exact color of the dress. Interestingly, it worked to deepen the blue of my eyes. I matched my dress with the trimmings underneath. The gorgeous bra, panty, and garter set were black satin covered with burgundy lace. I never removed my garter and thigh high stockings. With them still on, I feel partially clothed and less vulnerable. I knew it was because they helped cover the scars. Scars that since occurring, I’d shared with no one. I was not that frail girl anymore, and I didn’t want anyone’s pity. Pity was for the weak, and I refused to be weak.

  I decided to curl my hair this time. By the time I was finished, spiral curls framed my face and cascaded onto my shoulders. With one last glance in the mirror, I fluffed my curly hair a little and rubbed my hands down the length of my dress. Outwardly I appeared to be smoothing the beautiful material. On the inside, I knew I was soothing my raw nerves.

  I made my way to the bar and found a seat on one of the vacant stools. I ordered my customary ginger ale beverage and began to discreetly scope out the room. The bar was not extremely crowded this evening, and I began to worry that I might not find an eligible participant. It felt eerily similar to the last time I’d been here. If I hadn’t accidentally slammed into the brown-eyed stranger, I would have ended up alone that night.

  My worry soon subsided as I spotted a gentleman watching me from across the bar. I shyly smiled to give him enough encouragement to make the first move. It took no time for him to amble over to where I sat.

  “Is this seat taken?”

  Wow, he was the master of pick-up lines. I prayed he didn’t tell me that my mom was a thief or anything else corny like that. I might scare him off if I burst out into a full fledged belly laugh. Instead, I oozed southern charm as I replied. “Why no, feel free to have a seat. I hate drinking alone, don’t you?”

  It was all the encouragement he needed. I could see him do a mental fist pump as he sat down.

  “My name is Tom, and I am here on business. Are you also here on business?”

  Good old Tom was nowhere near comparable to my brown-eyed stranger from the previous week, but he would have to do.

  “I sure am Tom. What kind of business do you do?”

  That was all it took to get Tom talking. He told me about his job, his awful divorce that left him broke, his 13 year old daughter that chose her mom over him, his dog that got pregnant and had mutt puppies in his garage last November, and other things that I didn’t even bother to listen to. All the while he was telling his stories, I was feeding him drinks. I found it amusing that he hadn’t even realized I’d never told him my name. Oh well, at least I didn’t have to make one up and then make sure I remembered it.

  While he was getting more and more animated with his hands, I started sending little queues his way. I knew it wouldn’t take much to get him sitting on ready. With my hand on his arm, I began my seductive laugh pretending that whatever he was saying was better than any joke I’d ever heard. Then I leaned close to his ear and whispered the words that would seal the deal.

  “Listen Tom, you are an amazing man, and I don’t want our evening to end so quickly, but I am feeling a little tipsy. Would you like to continue our conversation in my room?”

  Tom looked like he’d just won the lottery, and I was afraid he was going to have trouble walking through the lobby with the hard-on that was already making itself known.

  Chapter 5

  - Aiden

  Now that the business deal was done, the first thing that I was going to do was a complete renovation. I knew that Henry had met with me in the restaurant/bar to try to persuade me of the upscale aura the chain promoted. All it did for me was initiate my gag reflex. My most prized architect Hayes could solve the issues I had with the property with relatively minimal down time. He was a genius at restoration and remodeling, and I would most likely give him the entire chain to revamp. Before handing this over to McKinley, however, I wanted to make sure my architect knew exactly what my vision was. Since this was the closest hotel to where I lived, I figured a quick meeting with him at the location would fulfill my need to express my concerns visually. The next thirty minutes of my life would ensure that I didn’t have major issues to deal with later.

  We entered through the back employee entrance of the restaurant to avoid causing a disruption. We spoke briefly about kitchen changes, angles, archways, and the separation of the bar and restaurant that I was mandating. To conclude our meeting, we briefly toured the restaurant and bar area, so I could point out the few things I liked. As I was finishing up with my prodigy architect, I spotted her.

  This time she was not alone. She was perched at the bar as she had been before, and she seemed to be hanging on every word that the enthusiastic man to her right was saying. She was sipping her drink and smiling like the cat that ate the canary. God, her smile was gorgeous, and it lit up her entire face. It even revealed a tiny dimple on the left side of her perfect lips. It was a shame that this one was transparently fake. I�
�d already experienced her real smile.

  The sound of a throat clearing by my side brought me back to reality.

  “Thanks for meeting with me Hayes. I believe that we’re done here. Get with McKinley on the project. I expect it to be a top priority for you and your firm.”

  I quickly shook hands with him and watched him leave from the way we had entered.

  I turned back in time to see the happy looking couple making their way to the door. Anger and other feelings that I couldn’t quite place flooded my system. Every time she touched his arm, or he placed his hand on the small of her back, I wanted to hurt him. She staggered, and he seemed to try to stabilize her efforts. He had a difficult time helping her because he looked three sheets to the wind himself. Without even thinking, I found myself following them. They crossed the lobby to the elevators and stood giggling as they waited on a vacant elevator. Just as they stepped into the available car, I stepped in too.

  When our eyes met, her look of innocent bliss turned into terrifying panic. This time, I was not letting her take control. This time, I had the upper hand.

  “Hello gorgeous, I haven’t seen you in a while.”

  I bent down and kissed her on the cheek. The asshole to her right looked from his escort to me. “Do you two know each other?”

  I didn’t take my eyes off of her as I answered the inebriated asshole’s question. “Why yes, we are old friends. In fact, I was just coming to have a chat with you. I’m glad you are back in the city again. Do you have a moment to speak with me?”

  She knew I was bluffing, but Romeo had no idea what was going on. He was beginning to look a little deflated that his potentially erotic night was about to take an undesirable turn. She plastered a fake smile back on and found her voice.

  “Sure. Listen Tom I appreciate you being willing to see me to my room but now that I have met up with um Victor here, I think I can make it the rest of the way with him.”

  I almost chuckled. Who the hell was “Victor?”

  Poor Tom looked like his Christmas morning had just gotten ruined. I held the elevator door open and bade him good night. I didn’t even try to hide my smug grin as he shot daggers my way while exiting the elevator.

  As soon as the doors closed, I looked into her eyes.“Hello again.”

  The panic that she’d worn just moments earlier turned into a look of pure hatred.

  - Cam

  “What are you doing here? You are not supposed to be here! You ruined everything!”

  I wanted to knock that snarky grin off of his face along with his entire head. I waited for him to reply, but he just stood there staring. Just when I thought he wasn’t going to respond, he began. His calm, collected arrogance worked to piss me off even more until it registered what he was saying.

  “Oh, I don’t know. I think I was just probably saving that charming gentleman from getting drugged with your supply of Xanax.”

  Shit! How’d he find out? I’ve never screwed up this badly before. Was he here to have me arrested? His composed, placid stare gave nothing away. I needed to figure out how to get out of this with what little bit of dignity I had left. After all, I normally didn’t drug men. He was the only exception because he had not already been drunk when we met.

  “Can we just go to my room to discuss this? I don’t want to have this conversation in the elevator.” I didn’t want to incriminate myself by providing a full confession on a security camera in an elevator. Maybe I had seen too many cop shows, but I was taking no chances. His curt nod seemed to be the only answer I was going to get.

  The ride up brought back the familiar mixture of emotions that I felt the last time we had been in the elevator together. He was stoically quiet, and I couldn’t gage if that were his norm or a result of the current situation. The electrical current exuding from both of our bodies made it feel like the elevator walls were closing in on me. I wondered if he felt it too. As the elevator doors opened, I darted from the close quarters and headed for my room. I knew that he was following behind me because I could still feel the tension radiating between us. After entering my room and flipping on a light switch, I sat my small purse on the desk and immediately crossed the room to the mini bar. I grabbed a bottle of water out for me and then turned to him.

  “Would you like something?”

  His flat gaze said it all. He wasn’t about to take a drink from me. Instead, he walked smoothly across the floor to where I stood and stared menacingly into my eyes. Danger exuded from him, and for a moment I felt that my decision to have this conversation privately may have been a mistake. Just when I thought he was going to confront me or become physically aggressive, he bent past me and grabbed a bottle of water from the minibar. I watched as he unscrewed the cap and sucked down half of it in one big gulp.

  I stepped back a few steps hoping the distance would settle my building nerves. Unfortunately, when the back of my legs hit the side of the bed, I felt more trapped than before. The irate stranger was in front of me, and the bed was immediately behind me. This made the possibility of a quick exit impossible. I felt trapped, and the only thing that I knew to do was to defuse the situation with my words.

  “I can explain what happened. I promise I am not a cruel person, and I never meant to hurt you. It’s just that you were not inebriated, and usually alcohol does the loosening up for me. You and I hadn’t been together in the bar, so I just wanted you to loosen up a bit. I slipped the Xanax in your drink as an afterthought. I knew it wouldn’t hurt you. It was a prescription that a doctor had once prescribed me. I would have never endangered you. I don’t even own any other medications, and I would never use those date rape drugs. I hope you believe me.”

  I looked into his eyes and willed him to trust my heart-felt explanation.

  I hoped that he wasn’t wearing a wire like those cop shows also regularly portrayed. I almost expected the hotel room door to break open, and a S.W.A.T. Team tackle me to the ground. I could picture walking out in cuffs and kissing my new life goodbye before it had even gotten started good. I breathed easier after a few moments passed, and no one came charging in.

  We stood there silent for what seemed like forever. Then he spoke the one word that I wished I hadn’t heard. “Why?”

  I looked in his eyes and saw that curiosity and concern filled them now. Although I didn’t quite know what to say, I realized I owed him an explanation. “Let’s just say I have a fetish. It fills a need that I have, and it makes others happy too. I’m very careful, and I always use protection. I know you think I’m a slut, and I guess in some ways you would be right. However, I would never do this if there were any other way.”

  This conversation was beginning to get into dangerous territory. I’d just shared more about myself with this stranger than I’ve ever shared with anyone else. I needed to find a way to get rid of him and fast.

  Chapter 6

  – Aiden

  As crazy as it was, I couldn’t help but believe her. There was something in her eyes that gave her away. I saw hurt, and I could completely relate to that.

  She sat on the edge of her bed and shifted her gaze from me to an interesting spot on her comforter. I knew that her uncertainty about me and the present situation was responsible for the storm that brewed behind her bright blue eyes. She had no idea what I was planning, and I anxiously debated what her decision would be. She looked into my eyes as I began to verbalize my sudden notion.

  “I understand how vices work. I believe that you had no desire to harm me. When I left on my own free will that evening, I was anything but harmed. However, it seems that you now have a dilemma. Since I feel partly responsible for your needs not being met this evening, the gentleman in me would like to offer up my services.”

  I knew I was no gentleman, but then again, she certainly was no saint.

  Her eyes went from displaying concern to revealing brazen shock. “You mean you want to have sex with me again? After everything that I did to you? After the fact that I was just planning o
n doing the same thing to that other man? This is what you want?”

  I was sure that I’d never wanted anything more than I wanted to feel my heavy cock slide into her wet aching body. Ironically, she seemed to think I was doing her a huge favor. In reality, I couldn’t leave this room without claiming her as mine one more time. I wouldn’t allow her to find another man to fulfill her needs. Just the thought of someone else touching her, pleasuring her, putting their dick in her, made me want to punch something. I needed her, but this time it was going to be on my terms.

  “Yes baby, I am definitely going to fuck you. In fact, I’m going to make you scream until you can no longer speak. You just have to agree to my terms this time. See just like you, I have vices. It seems we both like to be in control. Releasing that control to you last time was excruciatingly hard for me. I had to fight every will inside of myself, but I knew it was all part of your game. This time, we are going by my playbook, and it is only fair that I have my turn at being in control. If you agree, I will drop the little Xanax episode as if it never happened. If you don’t, well let’s just say, the evidence is very incriminating. ”

  Her face seemed to pale, and her breathing increased. Had I not know better, I would have thought someone had just pushed her out of a plane with no parachute. She was right where I wanted her, and I loved watching her squirm as she tried to determine if she had any other options. Sensing that she didn’t, she tried to put on an air of confidence.