by Crimson Syn
Don't get me wrong. I'm a fucking decent man, but when confronted with this type of temptation, there's no way I'd turn my back to it. I'm a fucking gentleman, a businessman, but I'm also a man. A man with fucking needs. Needs that her naughty thoughts have triggered, needs I didn't know I had. Tonight I let all that go. I only enjoyed her. Her intoxicating messages that made my head swim in her imagination. It was the most surreal sensation. Fucking her mind was even more intense than fucking her body.
1
Cassandra
Present Day...
I glanced down at my phone and bit my lip as his messages started to pop up. He was demanding and enticing all at the same time. I don't know what I had gotten myself into, but I was falling deeper and deeper into this sexual abyss. It was an addiction. I was addicted to Drake. I'd never thought I'd find someone so willing to satisfy me. He never asked me to give him pleasure, he just gave and gave. I found myself wanting to please him, I’d never felt that way before. Exciting him made me wet, gave me pleasure. There were times I begged him to let me please him, but he'd deny me, stating he found his own pleasure in making me cry out for him.
When getting messages from readers I enjoyed the fact that they enjoyed my words, that my words elicited excitement or intrigued them. That I was able to conjure up these intensely sexual acts and they would make them to life in their imagination, gave me power. I just didn’t realize how much power, until now. I liked how Drake craved me. It was beyond intoxicating, he was consuming my every thought. Night after night I found myself stuck to that damn screen, waiting for him to appear, to say one sweet word to me so I can come undone for him. It was dirty and raw and I loved every second of it.
He had done some Pavlov theory shit to me. As soon as a text came, I was ready to do anything he wanted. I wasn’t sure if it was manipulation or my own selfish need to be loved. Maybe it was a little of both. My love life had been non-existent for years, not because there wasn’t anyone interested in me, but because I wanted it to be that way. I was tired of being left behind, of the abuse and the depression that followed. My relationships had all ended badly, the last one was the one that finally made me realize sometimes it’s better to be on your own. I met Jacob when I was in college and he was kind and handsome, but slowly he started to become manipulative, and his jealousy darkened any sweetness he had shown me. He’d become verbally abusive, and that lasted for years. Why did I stay? I just never realized it. I clung to him because I depended on him. I believed I needed him to survive. And after what happened to my Mother, he brainwashed me into believing that I was going down the same path.
My father left us when I was fourteen and it was just my mom and me for the longest time. A few years back my mom overdosed on sleeping pills. I had gotten her help, but as soon as she got out of the hospital she did it again, and again, until she finally succeeded. I found her the following morning with a bottle of antidepressants in one hand, a note in the other. She'd done it for me, to free me from the burden that she put on me. I'd cried for her that day, for my loneliness. I had no one in this world to call my own. No one to take care of me. To save me.
I had friends that I kept at bay, for fear that if they knew what had happened to my family, they'd also leave me. It wasn’t hard to do, especially when Jacob kept me away from them. When I decided to leave him, he’d threatened me, but I fled anyway. I got myself a restriction order and I disappeared, fleeing to New York. I don’t know why I chose the city, but I found solace in the loneliness. Independence where I’d never any. I learned to fend for myself and I found a way to keep going. But it always bothered me, and I kept it in the back of my mind, that a person could so easily harm another.
For years I focused on my mundane job. I was an accounts manager for a bigtime corporation. Day in and day out the same monotone job performance, running through numbers and making sure my team didn't make any errors. Nothing exciting ever happened, and I would consider it one of the most boring jobs in existence. My weekday consisted of waking up, drinking my morning coffee, and getting ready for my shitty job where I'd spend eight hours staring at numbers and telling my team not to act like children. I'd run out to make sure I was on the six o'clock bus that would take me to Grand Central Station where I'd take a train to the outskirts of the city and then call a car to take me where I needed to go. The evenings were pretty much the same, the only difference was I got to sit in traffic for approximately two hours before arriving home, making dinner and if it wasn't too late I'd shower and get into bed with a good book. Weekends were my moment of peace. I'd go out to the movies by myself, or the bookstore. I liked to stroll around the city, find new things to see. I also loved listening to live bands and I'd sit in the back where no one would bother me and drink my Sweet Manhattans while I listened to a rock band play my favorite nineties songs. I can honestly say I am not a people person. Sure, I talk to them every once in a while, but it wasn’t because I wanted to. I lived so long in the shadow of another that I guess that’s why I loved a quiet life.
I found comfort in writing. At first, it was short stories, poems, a journal, but those thoughts morphed into something more, into what I wanted to feel, what I wanted to experience for myself. I came across a blog that had all these stories, sexual stories, about your innocence stolen and just sinful acts that enticed me. I thought, what the hell, no one had to know. My secrets were my own. So I created an alias, and I started to put my thoughts out there. What I didn't expect was the response, nearly five thousand followers- the number slowly increasing by the day.
I have to admit, it was thrilling to know that my stories were being read, even if it was directed towards a different kind of audience. I started to receive requests of all kinds and I tried to indulge my fans in anything they wanted. I brought their naughtiness to life in my stories. I’d received all types of dirty messages since I started writing. You can’t indulge readers in that way and not bring out the demons to come out and play every once in a while. I never answered them, not one, except for that evening three months ago.
I was feeling lonely that night and I had decided to get lost in my imagination for a while. As I was typing a story I started to feel antsy. I can't lie, when you write something so sexual its inevitable not to feel something. And I learned early on that the more you feel your words, the more it will translate to your readers. When I saw his message pop up I ignored it at first, concentrating on the task at hand. But the more I wrote, the more curious I got, and something lead me to click on it. So, I opened his message. It was a simple compliment. I looked at it for a bit, and then went on writing, but something pulled me to him. I'm not sure why I answered him, or how I had the guts to play with him. That dirty role I had written about a hundred times over was suddenly being played out live. It was erotic and sexy and so sinfully dirty that I just allowed myself to sink into it. Into him. Drake.
I didn't even know his last name. In the last three months, he barely revealed a single thing about his life or his work. He did tell me his life was hectic, that it was complicated and that I was his only reprieve from the world. It sounded sincere, but you could never trust anything a stranger told you. I wasn't stupid. It was all a game, a really good sex game, but nothing else. The less I knew, the less I could become attached. But then, he wasn't going to allow that. He'd told me time and time again I was to be his. And now he was making his move.
Drake: Would you be willing to play a game with me?
Candee: What type of game?
Drake: One that tests your limits.
Candee: Hmmm. Careful, now. I have a lot of limits, Drake.
Drake: Yes, I’m well aware of them.
Candee: Then why are you wanting to play those games?
Drake: Because I need to know.
Candee: What is it that you need to know?
I stared down at the phone in anticipation. Whatever he wanted was going to be as intense as he was.
Drake: What you look like?
I
smirked to myself.
Candee: I’ll send you a pic.
Drake: I want to see you live.
I stared down at the screen, excitement flooding my core. He wanted to go live! I was going to get to see him. I couldn’t believe he was even offering, and yet I couldn’t do it. How could I? Could I?
Candee: Live as in I see you and you see me? That kind of live.
Drake: More like I see you, my eyes only on you.
I frowned and glanced up. There were people going in and out of the break room, completely oblivious to my turmoil as I sat contemplating his words. He would get to see me, yet I got nothing of him. It wasn’t fair, but what if I didn’t do it.
Would he disappear?
Fuck! That’s being attached.
No Cassandra.
Play hard to get.
Candee: No.
Drake: No? Are you sure you want to deny me, baby girl?
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
Candee: Either I see you as well, or you get nothing.
I waited, hoping he'd concede. But I didn't hear from him again. For the rest of the afternoon, I sulked around, deeply grounded in uncertainty. I didn't know if he'd even contact me again; if it was over just as quickly as it had begun. I was moving into defeat as I sat alone in my living room staring at the TV. I had lost the one thing that made me feel alive, and that feeling sucked. It tore me to pieces, more than I wanted it to. How is it you can miss someone that you've never even met, never even touched?
It was midnight when I heard the familiar ping on my phone. I reached over, half-drowsy in sleep, and stared at the message before me.
Drake: Turn on your laptop. Now, baby girl.
I quickly scurried over to my laptop, not even caring what I looked like. As soon as the screen was up, I noticed the red light signaling his camera was on. He had gone live too.
Candee: Are you sure about this?
Drake: You either appear in front of my eyes right now, or you’ll never get a chance to see me again.
I covered my mouth in shock and butterflies started to flutter crazily in my stomach. I turned slightly and caught myself in the mirror. My hair was a mess, all bedridden and crazy. I had no makeup on and I was sleeping in a pink tank top and silk white panties that covered my wide, curvy hips. I turned slightly and in the dim moonlight I could make out the hardened tips of my nipples and I bit my lip, suddenly liking my curvy frame. I ran a hand through my chocolate brown locks and shrugged.
“Fuck it. He either likes me or he doesn’t,” I thought to myself as I turned on the small desk lamp. A dim yellow light encompassed the room. In my nervous state, I hesitated for a moment. My hand shook on the mouse as I made the decision. I was about to reveal who I was to this man, this stranger.
A message pinged on my phone and I stared down at it.
Drake: It’s now or never beautiful.
I shook my head and closed my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I quickly made the decision.
I must be fucking crazy.
2
Drake
I paced my office feeling like a caged beast. She hadn’t answered my messages in days and I was growing impatient as the hours wore on. She fucked with the wrong man. She couldn’t hide from me even if she wanted to. I did this for a living, it was my fucking job to find people. She said I’d never her find, but fuck I wanted to prove her wrong.
I hadn’t felt the touch of a woman in years and I wasn’t going to give up on this one. She was too sweet, too dirty, too everything I needed. I wanted to make her moan my name, listening as it rolled off her tongue in ecstasy. I wanted to teach her all the dirty things she wanted and much more.
“Fuck!”
My mind should be on the fucking hacker who I’d been chasing, not on some young as fuck tail. She was getting the better of me for sure, but I had to have her. For the last week, Lucian was on my ass to find the ones responsible for bringing down our firewalls and breaching his system. I’d made sure to put up enough safety precautions that Ravenhead had once again been secured, but these assholes were slick.
“Sir?”
"What?" I bit out a reply. Lee, my assistant, turned beet red as he handed me a file.
“The information you wanted, Sir.”
I glared at him as I took the file. Lee had been with me for years, he was a good kid, smart. I felt bad he had to take the brunt of what Cassandra was doing to me. I rarely lost my temper, always composed, she was turning my into a moody asshole and I hated that even more.
I had reached out to my FBI connections to see if they had found anything interesting on the code I’d provided them. My mind worked in patterns and algorithms and as I skimmed through the paperwork I immediately spotted a connection. The same malware was used in several hacks throughout New York City. Same DDOS attacks against systems as well, where the systems were compromised and infected with malware rendering their own company’s networks useless. A diversion to focus on the main system. You fight the viruses while the hacker goes and grabs what he needs and then disappears.
Most companies didn’t have state of the art security, but I made sure Ravenhead had the best IT team and the best protection money could buy, which is why this fucker couldn’t get through. He’d breached a wall or two, but the in-depth files were encrypted and there was no way anyone was getting to those. Missile chips, blueprints, schematics and guidance systems were all safely guarded. If he wanted in, he’d get caught in a heartbeat.
As I stared at the paperwork a few names popped up. T0XIC.HYDR4 Ub3r L3g3nd. 5Y5T3M F4LUR3.
System Failure.
I turned around in my chair and looked through the code on the computers, sure enough, the encrypted system failure kept appearing. I slammed my fist on the desk.
“Found you, motherfucker.”
I pressed the intercom on my phone. “Lee, get me Lucian as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Sir.”
I stared at the code in front of me. If there was something I was good at, it was deciphering code. My mind worked in numbers. I’d spent hours in front of the computer trying to figure out patterns of malware and looking through networks. This asshole wasn’t going to be easy to track down, but then again, I had resources the FBI didn’t.
A few moments later Lucian Steele walked into my office. Always composed and looking like a million bucks. His dark hair was slicked back and his green eyes stared back at me, a trace of worry in their depths. But Lucian would never admit to that. The sky could be falling, but Lucian Steele would always look like he had everything under control. But I knew the man carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Taking over for his father was one stressful as it was, but running a multi-million dollar company was another.
“What did you find?”
“I found the son of a bitch’s signature.”
“Layman’s terms, Archer.”
“See, hackers worked on signatures. If I could find their signatures then I can block them on every turn or watch them. System Failure was this one’s signature.”
“Okay, so how do we stop him?”
“That’s the problem. Hackers are hard to find. We need to get the FBI involved.”
“We involve the FBI and they’ll shut down Ravenhead. They did it before and they’ll do it again. I can’t afford to shut down again, Drake. You know that.”
I sighed and shook my head. “There’s more to this, Lucian. I could feel it in my bones. My gut’s telling me they’re looking for something. This all just doesn’t make sense. This guy, System Failure, he’s not alone. It doesn’t make sense for just one guy to do the job.”
Lucian started to pace the office. He stopped by the floor to ceiling window that looked out into an empty field, beyond that was a thick blanket of trees. We were located in outskirts of the city, about an hour away from Manhattan. The building was isolated and tucked away behind a thick line of forest that made us barely visible. The serenity was all-encompassing and the isolation wa
s a requirement. Only one road leads you into the Corporation and it was lined with cameras and security. I had also set up security on the borders of the property and its surrounding area. We had footage of the grounds from every angle. Ravenhead held too many government secrets and it was best to keep it hidden.
“What makes you think this is a higher operation?”
“His attacks are tactical. Guys like this don’t play around. He’s searching for something.”
“How do we stop him?”
I looked out into the tree line. It was Fall and the leaves were changing color, blanketing the forest in rich reds and oranges. A mixture of yellows and greens as far as the eye could see.
“I’m not sure yet, but I’ll figure it out. I just need some time.”
“We don’t have time.”
“Yeah. I’m well aware of that.”
“Look, Drake, I need you to nip this in the bud. I can’t worry about this and everything else that’s going on right now. You know where to reach me if you need me. Just keep me posted.”
I nodded and followed him as he walked out. His shoulders were slumped over and he looked haggard and worn out. That man was wearing himself out for this company. He was young and he had this need to prove himself. He’d given so many of us a chance and it just wasn’t in me to let him down.
Staring back at my computer, a red blinking light alerted me to something else entirely. Something I’d been working on for the last week. As I brought up the tab, her pretty face filled the screen. I leaned back in my chair, relief and shock flooding through me. I had used a facial recognition program to find her and here she was. Her ID card popped up, along with an array of different information including her private file, an address, and a phone number.
