The Touch Series: Initiation

by Cecilia Lonski

  Gwen came up to me out of nowhere and looked down below to me with a smirk plastered on her pore-free face. “Mr. Constane will see you first. I'm sure it's because he needs to reprimand you for what you did.” She pointed to a door on the other side of the room. As I got up from my seat, she was still looking at me. “Try not to get lost this time.” That awarded her a few giggles from the rest of the girls. So, they do have a sense of humor!

  I made my way towards the door and opened it slowly. The room was completely different from the rooms I've seen so far. It was dark with very little lighting, mostly coming from a massive fireplace. There was a large window at one end of the room with a desk right in front of it. I stepped in further into the room to find Josef pouring himself a drink on the opposite side of the room. He was wearing black pants with a white button up top. White certainly looked good on him.

  That familiar feeling of warmth in my face suddenly came. He looked up and gestured me to sit on one of the arm chairs in the middle of the room. “Would you like a drink?”

  “No, thank you. I had some champagne earlier.” My voice couldn't sound more breathier. Control yourself!

  I looked around the room in hopes that by distracting myself I could resort back to a proper breathing pattern. But he quickly sat down opposite me after he poured himself a drink. He crossed his right leg over his left and took a slow sip from his glass as he looked at me. “How did you like my art collection?”

  A lot. But I think I like you more. “I'm very sorry about that. I know that we weren't supposed to wander around. I really did get lost trying to find the bathroom.” I looked down at my hands as I nodded my head. “But I liked it very much.”

  “Why do you look down? I want to see your face.” I heard a hint of amusement and curiosity in his voice. I slowly looked up to look at the ceiling and then slowly back at him. It was difficult. He was very intense. And I didn't like blushing around him. It made me feel childish.

  My eyes slowly began to look down his arm. “If you look down again you'll make me angry.” He was serious. His eyes were hard and his jaw was tense.

  “I'm sorry. It's a habit.”

  His face and eyes softened a bit. He must have noticed my unease and redness of the face. “Do you have any questions or concerns for me regarding the contract?”

  “Yes, I do actually.” I had to remember to always look at him but this topic was going to be extremely uncomfortable. “There is a part that was somewhat alarming to me.”

  “Alarming?” He cocked his head to the side with an eyebrow raised.

  Come to think of it, alarming is probably not even the right word for it. “Yes, the bit where it mentions the possibility of sex.” I couldn't have been more blunt if I tried.

  “What of it?” He looked indifferent and kept his cool composure as if he hadn't thought of it being inappropriate in any way; like it was the most normal thing in the world.

  I guessed my time in the Club was going to be over before it even had a chance to begin. “See, I was under the assumption that this was not that type of a group.”

  He raised his hand to silence me. “You're not a prostitute. Relax. I don't expect sex from any one of you. But in case something like that were to occur, I needed for a regulation of some sort to be stated in the contract. But I will never force it. It would have to be completely consensual between us.” He looked at me and then to my mouth. “Does that make you feel better, Miss Turner?”

  I nodded casually. “Yes, it does.” Not that I wouldn't want to with you. Though I've never been with a vampire before and I'm sure it's a different experience... “And it's Quinn.”

  He nodded slowly as he smiled. “Okay, Quinn.” His smile was sin-worthy. His mouth was perfectly shaped and he had a hint of dimples which made it better. “Anything else?”

  At that moment, I realized that I had been grinning like an idiot. I pursed my mouth slightly to stop. “What type of punishments exactly do you plan to use if we break a rule?”

  He was no longer smiling but his eyes were still warm. “Well, give me an example. Pick a rule that could be broken.”

  I was going to take the risk and tease him. “Okay, what if I touch you?”

  “Do you want to touch me?”

  “Ummm... I don't know... maybe?” How do I respond to such a question and not be honest?

  He put his glass down on a table next to him and used one of his hands to stroke his mouth and chin. I loved when he did that.

  “It's not that you can't touch me. It's that I will need to permit it.” All of a sudden a sinful grin spread across his mouth. “Now, Artie tells me that you are a good, respectable and innocent girl. How would you like to touch me, Quinn?”

  Good, he's teasing back. It makes up for the extreme heat I was feeling. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “Well, I'm just saying that I might touch you accidentally or something – Or you take advantage of my innocence and I just happen to comply.” I gave him a slight pout at that moment. “It's a genuine concern, Mr. Constane.”

  The grin stayed but his eyes showed me that he was surprised. I smiled again, this time for myself. “Okay, Quinn. We will have to just wait and see what happens. But in the mean time, you will not touch me. If you do, punishment can run from either you being restricted from attending a party or event to being put in solitary confinement for a day, away from any fun we have planned.” His voice was colder but I could still hear the amusement lingering.

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Oh, okay. I thought it would be something more drastic. Like a spanking or something.”

  He groaned as he closed his eyes for a few seconds. “I'm sure you would like that. But no, that's not my style.”

  “Oh. That's very gentlemanly of you, Mr. Constane.”

  He smiled as he took a sip from his glass. He placed it down again, turned to me and sighed. “Anything else?”

  I shook my head. Unfortunately, I ran out of sassy remarks.

  “Before you leave we need to talk about the financial arrangement.” He picked up a check book and a pen that was on the table next to him. Was he going to pay me now? “I always pay half of what you want in advance and the rest will be given to you in weekly installments. What is the number?”

  I wanted to look down again. I hated talking about money and this made me feel like charity.

  He noticed my unease which prompted him to speak again, “You don't have to be embarrassed. I have more money than I need. I would rather help you than buy another car.” He was being kind but it was still difficult.

  “I need $7,000. I know it's a lot.” Yep, that's how much the new therapist would cost for Nicholas plus his other speech therapy courses.

  He shook his head as I spoke.“That's all that you want? There's nothing else? A designer bag? Vacation spot?”

  “No.”

  “Can I ask you what this is for?” He looked curious.

  “It's to pay for a trauma and speech therapist for my little brother. My parents are already dealing with a stack of bills from the psychiatrists he has been seeing for the past year. But there's this therapist across town who is widely acclaimed but he is very pricey. Plus, his current speech therapy program is expensive. I...I just want the best for him. The best help he can get.”

  He looked like he wanted to know more but he didn't press the issue. He looked down at his checkbook. “How about we include what your family already owes?”

  “I can't do that, Sir.”

  He suddenly looked exasperated. “Why?”

  “I just can't. And I would have a tough time explaining to them how I got thousands of dollars to pay off all those bills – out of nowhere!”

  He looked down and started writing on a check. “If you manage to stay long enough, I will write out more to you than what you currently want. And that's not a request. We could always compel your parents to not ask where you received the money from. Simple.”

  I didn't have anything to say. Sure, it would help my family but
that would be too much. And frankly, this wasn't the right way to do it.

  He handed me a check for $3,500. It was difficult for me to even hold. I had never received so much money at once like that before. I couldn't believe how easy it was.

  I looked up to see him watching me again with deep intensity. I wondered what he was thinking? I had forgotten that he was a vampire. Could he smell my blood?

  “Can I ask you something else, something personal?”

  A surprised look crossed his face, “Our talk about sex and kinky punishments wasn't personal?”

  I laughed before becoming serious again, “Us being human, does that bother you in any way?”

  He fell serious again, clearly thinking about his reply to my question. “Most of the time...no. Sometimes though, when someone has a strong scent it may. But I can reassure you that I have very good self-control. Better than most other vampires you'll ever meet.” He gave me a slight reassuring smile at the end. “Any other questions?”

  “Was Dracula an actual vampire?” I leaned in further and did my best to look absolutely clueless.

  He frowned and rubbed his eyes. “Really?”

  I laughed. “No, I'm joking.”

  I gave myself a moment to stop laughing and really think of a good question.

  “Do you always live in fear as a vampire?” I wasn't entirely sure why I asked and why I even thought of it in the first place but I guess a part of me always wanted to know what it was like. Artie always danced around such questions. Maybe Josef would be honest with me.

  He looked at me thoughtfully. “I don't fear my life as a vampire. There are worst things to fear.”

  “What do you fear the most than?”

  “These questions don't really have anything to do with the club or contract.”

  “You don't have to answer.”

  “But you want me to.”

  “I've always wondered what it would be like to live as a vampire. I'm sure it's not entirely an easy ride.”

  “I don't age, I don't get sick, I have money and I can travel whenever and wherever. How is that not an easy ride?” I wasn't sure why but I got the feeling that he wasn't being completely honest with me; his eyes showed me that he was hiding something; maybe something sad or painful.

  “You never get attached to humans?”

  “No. I actually make it a rule to live by.”

  “What? You mean not even being friends with a human?”

  “Exactly.”

  “See, now that must not be easy.”

  “I have vampire friends. Enough of them.” Yes, Artie told me that Josef has many “friends” but many of them don't really care for him; they simply use him mostly to make themselves look good within the vampire community.

  “Okay, I see.” I smiled and nodded. “You just don't have room in your life for a little old human such as myself.” I made it seem as if I didn't care, but deep down I did.

  He broke his stare and reached out for his drink. “You would just get hurt, that's all.”

  “And you wouldn't?”

  “Any other questions?”

  I could tell the conversation made him feel uncomfortable and I'm sure he didn't like losing control in any situation so I didn't even try to continue with it. “How long is this expected to last?”

  “A few weeks. Maybe longer. It depends on how I feel and how I get along with the rest of you.”

  “And afterward, when it's done, what will happen?”

  He looked confused at my question. I'm sure he was used to forgetting about all the girls who were in the club after it was over. Well, at least that's what Artie told me.

  “I mean, if we do get along, will we remain friends afterwards?”

  He didn't hesitate. “No.”

  For some reason his response made my stomach drop. And his casualness made the feeling worse. It was as if the entire club was going to be completely disposable to him and he knew it from the beginning even before getting to know any one of us. “Oh...okay.” I was done with the interview. All of a sudden, I wanted to go home.

  “Anything else?”

  “No. That's it. You answered all of my questions. Thanks.” I smiled, though I knew he knew I wasn't completely fine.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. And I'm sure you would want to get on with the rest of the interviews or it will be a long night for you.” I got up and stuffed the check into my purse. And then I grabbed a pen out and signed the contract. I walked around the coffee table between us to hand him the contract. He slowly stood up with his eyes on mine the whole time as he took the contract from my hands. “Did I offend you?”

  I shook my head and tried not to let my face give anything away. “No, why would you ask that?”

  “Because you want to go. I'm actually getting the sense that you want to get out of here quickly and go home. You don't even want to stay for dinner. Am I right?” He lowered his face to mine.

  “I have homework to do, Sir.” He smelled good. The right mix of spice and musk. Damn him!

  “What do you have to do?”

  My voice started to shake and it was difficult to control. “I have to write a research paper for my British Literature class. We have to choose a popular text within the assigned topic and write an essay on it.”

  “What's the topic?” His eyes continued to look into mine. He barely blinked and his voice was cool and controlled.

  I swallowed and clenched my fists at my sides. “Sex and Scandal in Victorian Literature”

  He raised his head slightly and took a deep breathe, but his eyes never left mine. A glimmer of humor arose in them though. “You should consider The Nunnery Tales.”

  “Okay, I'll look into that.”

  “Next time I see you, I'll ask for a verbal report. So read very diligently.”

  “Of course, Mr. Constane. I wouldn't want to disappoint. Have a good night.” I couldn't stand to be near him so close. I needed to go. I gave him a smile and headed towards the door. My hand was on the handle when I remembered something. I quickly turned to see him staring at me and still smirking. “I actually do have one more question.”

  “I thought you would.”

  “Artie told me you had to fight with Jacob to have me in the club. I don't understand. Why me?”

  His facial expression went cold all of a sudden. He turned his back and walked to grab his drink off the table. “You need to gain some confidence, Miss Turner. You have very little to no self-esteem.”

  I rolled my eyes. I had heard that comment before. “It's Quinn, Sir.”

  He looked up and nodded slightly. “Go and get started on your reading.”

  CHAPTER five

  It had been five days since I last saw or spoke to Josef. And I had thought about him for most of that time. It was difficult not to. I tried to distract myself with different things but nothing ever worked. It was even hard to do homework without thinking about him. And after reading his suggested Victorian erotica, my thoughts had become even more unhealthy.

  Thankfully, after these past few days, tonight was going to be the first night out officially with the rest of the Club and Josef. It will be held in a club at a fancy five-star hotel in Pine Glen so I decided to step up my look for tonight. I opted for a knee-length fitted black lace dress with a corset top. I straightened my hair for once, instead of letting it go wild with its usual random waves and curls. I topped the outfit and hair off with a drastic change of make up as well: Smokey-eye, a hint of bronzer and crimson red lip stick. Might as well fit in with the rest of the Club and not stick out awkwardly.

  Artie came over yesterday to compel my parents to not ask questions about where I was heading and such. So me walking out like this was not going to reward me with the you-are-dressed-like-a-prostitute talk from mom. Then again, I also hoped that I wouldn't run into anybody that my parents knew at the club because that would certainly be difficult to handle.

  I glanced at the clock. Shit! I was running late. I
quickly put my heels on, grabbed my purse and coat, and darted out my room. I headed downstairs and kissed Nicholas goodnight before I walked out the house. Not only did my parents not say anything but they didn't even notice me leaving; there eyes were glued firmly to the TV.

  Walking out and heading towards the bus stop a few blocks away turned out to be more awkward than I imagined. Some of the neighbors gave my slightly inappropriate attire a run down with their eyes and some of the housewives did not look pleased. And standing at the bus stop made me pace from side to side out of apprehension.

  I checked the online bus tracker to see when it would arrive – Delayed. Crap! That's not good! The party was going to start in half an hour and Gwen expected us all to arrive on time. I really didn't want to stay on her bad side and being late was surely going to keep me there.

  For a while, I continued to paced around the bus stop sign until I started to feel my feet ache. I glanced at the time; I needed to be there in the next fifteen minutes. There was no way that that was going to happen, certainly not with the unreliable Richmond bus service. I had no choice but to text Artie to let him know that I was going to come late and to let Gwen know.

  The bus arrived six minutes after the party had started. So I was already screwed. And it was going to take another ten minutes just to get there. I could already see Gwen's green eyes drilling holes into mine. I wondered what she would be capable of doing to me if I continued to piss her off...

  After several horrific images flashed in my head, my phone buzzed with a text from Artie:

  Okay. But you need to get here ASAP. It's not Gwen you should worry about. Josef hates tardiness :(

  But I'll try to calm him.

  Nice. Both Gwen and Josef were going to be pissed at me. That's all I needed to round off the night which was going to be hell anyway since I was most likely going to be ignored or scorned by the rest of the Club. The only good thing that will come out of this was me getting to set foot into one of the most exclusive clubs in Richmond. The only other way I would have ever gotten in was by being an employee.