BLYSS (Blyss Trilogy #1)

by J. C. Cliff

  “You’re amazing, you know that? I’m astonished at how much you know, and yet you’re so young,” I tell her honestly.

  She tilts her head and looks at me speculatively. “I don’t feel amazing, Travis. I’m just another girl trying to enjoy what life has to offer.” She lets out a sigh. “But for some unknown reason, I was picked out of a crowd and plucked from my existence.”

  I almost frown, but I catch myself, keeping my expressions unreadable. I ignore her previous statement, asking, “Yes, well, how do you know so much?”

  She shrugs her shoulders. “In the scheme of things, I still know very little, but thanks to the internet, it’s possible to learn almost anything...about everything, all at your fingertips. I’ve just never been one to sit and watch a lot of TV. I’ve always entertained myself with either a book or a paintbrush.”

  Suddenly, I find myself reaching out, wanting to touch her long hair, but I reverse the move and scratch the back of my neck, avoiding contact. I ask her with sincere intrigue, “Have you created a lot of art pieces?”

  She bites her lip in hesitation, deciding whether or not to share a piece of her personal life with me. I get it. I’m sure she thinks I’m just making conversation regarding her personal interests to warm her up, to get back in her good graces again.

  “I truly am interested, Julianna. You really are a unique young woman. Most of the girls that come through here, believe it or not, can be quite shallow. The majority of them never seem to have had any real hobbies or even have enough intellect to hold a deep conversation. Seems like most of the women our clients choose are selected for how they’ll look as arm candy. They love to go to shows, parties, dances, and discuss dialectical materialism. You don’t seem to be any of that.”

  She gives me a half-smile. “Don’t get me wrong—I do enjoy a good party, dancing, and having some nice things, but I also understand that materialism is not the solution to true happiness.” She taps her heart several times for emphasis. “True happiness is in here, on the inside. It can’t be bought or sold.”

  My hand decides to act on its own accord this time, and before I know it, my thumb is caressing the side of her cheek. “You’ve got somewhat of an old soul, ya know?” She stills, but she doesn’t pull away; that’s a good sign. I’m wonderstruck by this girl. The more I get to know about her, the more attached to her I feel. She’s so easy to like and converse with, and she seems so genuine.

  She lets out a chuckle. “Yes, so I’ve been told many times over.”

  It’s good to see her smile, and it feels good to really talk with her, something I never do with the women here. I step back into her space with a grin lining my lips. Damn, I don’t want to break this mood. I bite the inside of my cheek, thinking how I’m going to broach the next subject.

  “What are you thinking about, Travis?” she asks as her grin slowly dissipates.

  I let out a sigh and get down to business again. “Jared has been giving you doses of Blyss while you sleep. I’d like you to show me you can be a good girl and take your own medicine twice a day by mouth,” my tone is serious, “without fail.” I reach into my pocket and pull out a small pill bottle. Twisting open the top, I tilt the bottle, and a capsule rolls into the palm of my hand. “You are to take one in the morning and one in the evening. There is no negotiation on this.”

  She raises her brow and asks, “What, no more shots?”

  I watch her closely and reply, “No, Jared was able to get your altered dose in a time-released capsule.” She places her hand over her mouth and shakes her head. My eyes narrow and I speak matter-of-factly. “Would you rather see Jared twice a day, who’ll have your arm looking like a racetrack by the end of the week?” I bite the inside of my lip to keep from arrogantly grinning, because I know she hates him. “He’s quite a busy guy, but I suppose I can take you to his clinic twice a day and have him administer your shots.”

  “No! No, I don’t want that.” She holds her hand out for the pill. “Give it here; I’ll take it. I won’t put up a fight.” I want to laugh out loud, but I hold it in. She’s so damn easy to figure out sometimes.

  I go to the mini-refrigerator, pull out a bottle of water, and hand it to her, along with the time-released Blyss pill. I’m testing her, watching her every move to see what she will do with it.

  I see her put the pill in her mouth before she unscrews the cap on the water bottle. She takes a large drink and gulps hard, making sure I know she just swallowed. Then she gives me an ‘are you satisfied?’ look, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from calling her out. Is she fucking kidding me? The little shit. She is nowhere near broken. I know for a fact she didn’t swallow that pill. She has that look on her face, trying to mask her guilt, playing it off as defiance. I bet she could never get away with anything growing up; she wears her emotions on her sleeve.

  Taking a step back from her, I give her a knowing grin. I know the effect my body has on her, so I decide to make this game a little more interesting. I reach behind my head, grab the back of my shirt, and slowly pull it over my head. I give her a close-up view of my rippling abs and hear her gasp, smiling to myself under my shirt. Bingo. Pulling my shirt the rest of the way off, I roll it into a ball and throw it over her head, watching it land on the floor by the sofa.

  “Holy mother of Moses,” she whispers, keeping her eyes locked on my six-pack. Her breath catches in her throat, her neck flushes red, and I watch as it spreads all the way to her ears. She slams her hands over her face, hiding her eyes from mine. “Oh, my God! Did I just say that out loud?” she exclaims, mortified.

  I let out a chuckle. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” I say with a smirk and step into her space once again. I run my hands down the sides of her body. My God, she’s a sweet, petite little thing. Just touching her curves has my blood wanting to run south, and I hope I can control my dick this time and keep it down. I notice her breathing has sped up, and I know my close proximity is affecting her because she’s affecting me, too. I work my hands underneath hers, disengaging her from her hiding place, uncovering her face. Cupping my palms around either side of her cheeks, I stroke my thumbs over her bottom lip. The smile on my lips fades; as I tilt her head back, desire swirls in her sparkling blue eyes. This catches me off-guard, and my face turns serious as I wonder if I’ve met my match.

  “I’m struck stupid by your beauty, Julianna.” Shit, but this girl is going to be the death of me. I can’t help myself; I lean in for a feather-light kiss, our lips lightly dusting each other’s. She doesn’t push me away, and I close my eyes at the thought of having more. I thread my fingers through the back of her hair and lightly tug. She lifts her hands and places them on the muscles of my chest, running her hands over me, and I’m taken aback as she confesses, “You strike me stupid, too, Travis.” Her touch sends an electrical zing shooting right through me. This is the first time I’ve let her touch me on my bare chest, and the feeling is out of this world.

  I kiss her again and dip my tongue inside her mouth for a quick taste. “I could get drunk just from this kiss,” I whisper darkly. She lets out a small whimper, and the sound only encourages me, knowing she wants me. The tempo of her breathing changes as I deepen the kiss and caress my tongue with hers, pulling back out to roll it across her lips before sweeping in again. She’s so addicting, and I hear myself groan into her mouth. Her hands continue to slowly glide upward, caressing me over my shoulders and then back down over my biceps. She explores my body with sweet, tender touches; her fingertips graze over my nipples, and my dick twitches.

  “Fuck yeah,” I moan as we fit together like puzzle pieces, our tongues masterfully stroking against one another as if we’re making love. We’re in perfect harmony, and as I feel my cock growing hard, I know I have to stop. God help me; I don’t want to. My fingers grasp her hair a little tighter as a frustrated growl escapes me because I know I can’t have her. I take one more heated pass over her tongue before breaking the kiss.

  When I pu
ll back, her eyes are at half-mast. She’s swaying in a dizzy, wanton lust, and I have to keep my hands on her waist to keep from taking what I want. Hell, even my own breathing has turned erratic.

  I move my tongue between my cheek and gum, and her pill falls flat on my tongue. Sticking it out with the pill cradled in the center, I show her the evidence of her botched plan. She knows now that I’m on to her little game. She’s so busted, and her face begins to flush scarlet again.

  I don’t even give her time to take her next breath to try and weasel her way out of this one with words. I crash my mouth over hers again, slipping my tongue in. She’s Forgot the entire reason why I’m kissing her again as she doesn’t hesitate to swirl her tongue around mine. If I don’t stop, I’m going to forget what it was I was trying to accomplish. I force myself to pull away slowly, scraping my tongue on her top front teeth to deposit the pill back in her mouth. Wrapping my arms around her waist, keeping her steady, I reach behind her to grab the bottle of water off the table and hand it to her. I raise my eyebrow expectantly while I watch her take a shaky sip of water and swallow the pill for good this time.

  She peers up into my eyes and sheepishly asks, “Will you be giving me my medicine like this every day?”

  I throw my head back and laugh. Spontaneous, boisterous laughter fills the quiet room and breaks the heated moment. Damn, this is the only girl I’ve ever known to be able to skirt around my stonewall exterior. I can’t get over her fighting spirit, quick wit, intellect, and not to mention her beauty. She grins back at me, biting her lip as her eyes light up with mischief.

  Grinning from ear to ear, I playfully reply, “No, I won’t be giving you your meds like this. Consider this one on the house.” I reach up and run my forefinger down her cheek and turn a little serious. “What you need to be aware of, Julianna, is the fact that we will know if you aren’t taking your pills. There are different consequences for you disobeying.”

  “How will you know if I don’t take it?” she asks on a baited breath.

  My lips quirk up in a half-smile. “My, you are an inquisitive little thing, aren’t you?” I ask as I tuck a piece of stray hair behind her ear. I love touching this girl. “This facility, as you are already aware, is high-tech. We’ve installed what we call Intelligent Johns. They have biosensors in them, and they are spread throughout the facility here. When you use the restroom, the chip in your hand is read to distinguish who you are then the sensors analyze your urine for chemicals. It’s all computerized, and the information gets sent directly to the lab. We know everything about you at any time.”

  She immediately pulls away from me, eyes wide and horror-stricken. Looking down at her hand, she asks on a whisper, “When...” she swallows hard, her hand trembling, “…when did you put a chip in my hand?”

  I’m not going to let her have a breakdown—not on my watch, not again. I clasp both my hands over her cheeks and look at her with earnest sincerity. “Julianna, listen to me. I know you don’t truly understand what it means when I say I’ve got you, but I need you to have a little faith in that.” I tilt my head to one side, searching those wide, horrified blue eyes of hers, and try to ease her mind. “These chips are read-only memory. Really, that’s all they do, and they’re smaller than a grain of rice. You see me open doors with a wave of my hand, right? Do you think I’d have one in my own hand if they were trackers or did anything else?”

  She tentatively shakes her head. “C’mere, sweetheart,” I say reassuringly and pull her into a tight embrace. “I know I’m running thin on your faith in me, but you can trust me on this one. You’ve been here for four days now, and have I abused you in any way?”

  I feel her breath on my chest as she whispers, “No.”

  I let out a sigh. “I have no intention of ever hurting you, Julianna. I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a woman beater, and I don’t like to see women broken. Do you hear me?” Somehow, she’s done it again; she has an innate ability to flip my purpose and intent around, doing a complete one-eighty with my emotions, and I’m not an emotional man. Having a soft heart will get one killed in this business, and I have to give myself a pep talk before entering her room every time, steeling myself against the need to cave in and mollycoddle her at every turn.

  “Yes,” she breathes.

  I keep my lower body pressed to hers and pull my upper body away, tilting my head to the side to get a good look at her, and my gut clenches at the sight of her tear-glistened eyes. I give her my megawatt smile, the one that always has women dropping their panties for me. I can see by the look on her face she’s not immune to my smile, either. I don’t smile often, but when I do, it’s like breaking out the big guns. “That’s my girl. Trust me on this one; I’ve got you.” I pause and give her a chaste kiss on the lips. This thing between us feels too natural, and I’ve got to leave before I do something I may or may not regret. I break away from the embrace, taking a few steps back. “I’ve got to go now, but I will be back this afternoon, okay?”

  “Travis?” I can clearly see she’s still shaken up about the microchips.

  “Yeah?”

  “Can you...can you please just hold me for another minute?” she asks warily.

  Ah hell, I’m done for. I can’t resist her sweetness. I briefly close my eyes, and let out a long sigh. “Yeah, baby, c’mere.” She moves into my arms and I melt a little more. Nick was right—she’s chipping away at my stone wall. I bend my head to rest my lips on the top of her head and breathe in her scent.

  “Thank you, Travis. I was alone all day yesterday, and I liked it, but I didn’t. Does that make sense?”

  “Yes, it makes perfect sense. It means you’re human,” I say, speaking into her hair and pulling her in a little tighter. My right hand reaches behind her neck, and I thread my fingers through her silky blonde hair, gently massaging the back of her head. “It’s all going to be all right, baby,” I say reassuringly, then kiss the top of her head. Why the hell am I trying to make assurances that I most likely can’t keep? The statement just spilled out of my mouth, as if my subconscious knows something I don’t, along with the endearment I’ve never used on any other woman.

  I have to come back this afternoon and turn on her sexual desires, knocking down the walls of her inhibitions. The way she acts, it’s like she was raised by people who have been brought up believing the exploration of one’s sexual side is taboo. Much of that mindset stems from the old Puritan piety and witch-burning era. Those people were after moralistic perfection, thinking it was sinful and wrong to enjoy sexual intimacy with their partner. In actuality, though, for her generation, I’m sure it was just a scare tactic enforced by her father to keep her from getting knocked up.

  It’s my job to teach these women otherwise. I get them to live for the next euphoric, seismic release, the next big O, the next kinky adventure. Once they give in to their body’s natural desires, I then train them to enjoy the individual proclivities of their future owner. By the time I’m done, these women are literally begging for whatever kink their new master likes. Of course, these drugs are like a gift from the sex gods, a supercharged aphrodisiac, none of which this world has ever seen before, which, in turn, makes my job a hell of a lot easier.

  I’m pulled from my thoughts as a voice comes over the intercom, and I can feel her body tense as it startles her. “Travis, Code Yellow, room three.” Then the voice repeats, “Travis, Code Yellow, room three.”

  I break away reluctantly. “I’ve got to run. Duty calls, but I’ll be back after lunch.” I tap her on the end of the nose and step away. When I get to the door, I turn around. “Oh, Julianna?”

  “Yes?”

  I over-exaggerate, waggling my brows at her to let her know I’m playing, and hopefully ease her worries. “I expect a book report on the one you read yesterday when I get back,” I tease with a mischievous grin.

  She guffaws and tries to hide her smile as she turns bright red, and I shut the door just in time. With the click of the door, I simultan
eously hear the paperback novel bounce against the other side of the door, and I can’t help but chuckle.

  I walk briskly down the hall and realize I’m shirtless with no time to change. I’ll have to explain that one to Nick, who’s already in a bad mood since he feels threatened I’m moving in on his woman. Nick’s having a small altercation in room three, and I shake my head at the man. He’s never been good at controlling his temper. Jared and I actually created ‘Code Yellow’ at first as a joke, signifying Nick’s tantrums have gotten out of hand, but soon it became a standard communication term. I get to play mediator now, before any shit hits the fan. I roll my eyes, wondering what set Nick off this time.

  Before I round the corner to room three, I think of Julianna. By this afternoon, those drugs will be fully-laced through her system. I fear if things get too heated I won’t be able to resist her. It’s going to be bad enough watching her take her pleasure, writhing in ecstasy. I’ve never felt like this about anyone before, not even the one significant girl from my past, which was a long fucking time ago. For the first time in this career of mine, I’m concerned for myself in more ways than one, and I seriously need to reevaluate my motives from here on out.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  ~Jules~

  After Travis left me, I had to shake off the sexual tension he left behind in his wake. Highly-frustrated, I quickly change into my workout clothes and begin distracting myself by exercising. Zumba blares from the TV screen and a half-hour later, I’m drenched in sweat. Hopefully I’ve been able to sweat some of these drugs out of my system.

  The more I feel those sexual urges surfacing, the harder I work out, until I find myself collapsing on the floor. I groan. It’s going to be a long day. I peel myself from the floor and make my way to the shower for the second time this morning. By the time I’ve eaten lunch and brushed my teeth, I’ve found myself going crazy in the head again. My body is fighting my brain for sexual dominance, and I wonder who’s going to be king of the hill today—my mind or my body.