by T J Vertigo
From where Faith was standing, Cori looked mad. She ducked up a few stairs when the dancer let herself in.
"By all means, make yourself comfortable," Reece said sarcastically, closing the door. "So, who was so important that you had to tell me this early?"
"I ran into Michele and Christina."
Faith saw Reece grimace. "Yeah, so."
"Reece! Why didn't you tell me?!"
"So, I had something to do with them meeting, I thought it was a match made in heaven, anyway," Reece shrugged.
"That's not what I was talking about and you know it!" Cori fumed.
Faith watched in shocked curiosity as her friend pushed Reece down on the couch.
"Hey!"
"You were brought up on rape charges and you never told me!?"
RAPE! Faith sat down on the stairs as her knees went numb.
"Shhh... Cori, what are you nuts, screaming like that?"
"You haven't told Faith either! What's wrong with you?"
"She didn't have to know. It was attempted rape and it was a crock. The charges were dropped, anyway."
"Reece! Are you stupid? What happened to the shit you said about sharing with Faith, telling her your feelings? What if Christina shows up or Faith hears it from someone else?" Cori arrowed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest.
"You wouldn't!" Reece dared.
"Don't tempt me. Was this because of New Year's? When you turned her down?"
"Yeah, it was a revenge thing; she was humiliated and she filed a ridiculous charge against me. It was bullshit and she had to drop the charges. Nikki told her she was being an asshole," Reece shrugged.
Faith digested the information. Reece's explanation put her at ease but there was still no excuse for why she wasn't told. She felt hurt.
"But that doesn't answer why you haven't told Faith. I can understand not telling me, but her?"
Reece looked very guilty. "I wanted to, but she started having shit at work and then the club took off... after the charges were dropped, I figured what the hell."
"Reece, those are some serious charges to have on one's record. Please, tell Faith," Cori pled.
Faith agreed with Cori. She was pissed that Reece didn't tell her, but she felt oddly comforted that Reece thought to hold something this monstrous inside to spare her.
"It's not on my record, it's taken care of, but I'll tell Faith, okay? " Reece ran her hands up and down over her face in irritation. This wasn't how she planned this morning.
"Okay. Hey, how did you get those two together?"
"I have my secrets. Let's just say they have a common enemy."
"You're such an asshole. You won't tell me?"
"E-mail, Cori. I sent Chris an accidental e-mail from Michele complaining about me to some phony person. I assumed they'd hit it off."
"You are so lucky, Reece. What if they didn't? You'd have two crazy women on your back."
"Only two? Where's Faith figure in there?" Reece joked.
Faith frowned on the stairs and decided it was time to show her face. "Where does Faith figure into where? Good morning, Cori, you're here early," she leaned over and kissed her lounging lover.
"Mmmm, morning, beautiful," Reece murmured into Faith.
"Hey, I was just leaving, Faith. I'll let you two get on with your morning rituals," Cori smirked at the embracing kissing women.
Reece broke the kiss when she heard the door close.
"What was she doing here so early, Reece? Was it important?"
"Uh, yeah," Reece lifted Faith onto her lap and rubbed her shoulders nervously.
Faith wished this wasn't going to be so hard, but she wanted to hear it.
"Remember New Year's? What I told you about Chris in my office?" Reece started.
"Yes, when she tried to take advantage of your... situation?" Faith offered to help her struggling lover.
"Well, she went off the deep end and filed charges against me, saying I tried to... rape her."
"And..." The actress tucked a bit of hair behind Reece's ear.
Reece eyed Faith suspiciously. Why wasn't she freaking out? "And, well, I was arrested and taken to jail for a few hours."
"Oh, baby, why didn't you tell me? I know how hard it must have been for you to be there!"
Reece leaned back and studied Faith's face. "I just told you I was arrested for attempted rape and you are okay with that?"
"Reece, you'd never rape anybody. I feel awful because I couldn't be there when you needed me the most."
"Good god, Faith!" Reece's eyes were wide with astonishment.
"What? What happened to the charges?" Faith let her fingertips wander down Reece's shoulders and arms.
"They were dropped. They were bullshit," Reece closed her eyes at the pleasurable sensations Faith's fingers were causing.
"I can't believe you were in jail and you didn't call me. I'm hurt, Reece."
Reece looked like she was going to cry. "I never want to hurt you, Faith. I'm so sorry."
"Then why didn't you tell me?" the actress began a teasing motion across Reece's ribs and up and down her sides.
Reece readied herself. She took a deep breath, grateful for the feel of Faith's fingers calming her soul. "It was a horrible day. I had a hellish nightmare, I got into a fight with some would-be muggers and then I was arrested. I didn't want you to see me like that. I didn't want to scare you... or disappoint you. That dream, Faith... it was because of Christina."
"Honey, that was why you got yourself so drunk that day, isn't it?"
"Yeah. It was stupid. I should have called you," Reece clenched her jaw and turned her head.
Faith persisted. She drew both hands behind Reece's head and forced her to face her. The pained blue eyes looked into hers and Faith felt the emotion in her own stomach. "Oh, Reece, I love you. You wouldn't have disappointed me. You wouldn't have scared me, either. You wouldn't hurt me."
"That day... I don't know, Faith. That dream... it was disturbing," Reece admitted quietly.
"What happened in that dream?" Faith asked while smoothing the worry lines in Reece's brow.
"I said it was because of what happened with Christina."
Reece's pulse sped up in fear and her mouth went dry. Faith saw her swallow and wondered what could have made the strong woman so scared. She remembered the panic in her lover's voice, the dream Reece desperate to save the dream Faith. But from what?
Reece's gaze flickered to Faith for an instant and the actress felt her fear.
Because of what happened with Christina... It dawned on Faith what could make Reece so frightened. "Reece, did you... force yourself on me in your dream?
Reece swallowed hard again, "Worse. It was The Animal, and she... liked it."
Faith pulled her trembling lover into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "So, that's why you didn't let me touch you... that's why you made me touch myself." God, I was teasing her, testing her relentlessly... but she didn't leave. She trusted me... us.
Reece nodded and kissed Faith's arm.
"Shhh, it's okay, Reece. I'm so proud of you. Had I known what kind of day... what kind of dream you had, I wouldn't have done what I did that day."
Reece chuckled, "I passed out on you. I never did that before."
"Well let's hope you never have to get that drunk again. Next time you want your way with me or The Animal wants her way with me, I want you completely sober. I don't want to miss a thing."
Reece grinned wildly, "You want the Animal to have her way with you?" She extricated herself from the embrace to look into Faith's eyes.
"I love The Animal, Reece, especially when she has her way with me," Faith wiggled her eyebrows and licked her lips.
"Oh, you're going to open up that can of worms, aren't you?" Reece teased, willing The Animal to come out right that second.
Faith pulled Reece's face between her breasts and wriggled. "I can hardly wait."
* * *
Faith trailed behind her lover as she picked up
the clothes that were strewn around their room. "So try harder?" Faith whined, watching Reece's butt as she stooped to pick up her jeans.
"Faith," Reece chuckled, "I told you, I don't have the head for that now." She folded the jeans over a hanger.
"Pleeease?" the actress stood in front of the tall woman and gave her best pout.
Reece sighed. "Babe, listen. Just because you want The Animal to be there, doesn't mean it will happen. There's certain factors involved," Reece furrowed her brows at the way that sounded, like she was talking about an algebra problem. It's not that fucking difficult!
Faith folded a shirt and still wore her pout. "What the hell did you do in here last night?"
"I had trouble choosing an outfit," Reece said in embarrassment.
"You could have shown up naked," Faith suggested with a big grin. "Reece, how come you can't just be..."
"Faith, you keep harping on it and The Animal will whoop your butt!"
"Fine," Faith said and stomped out of the room like a petulant child.
Reece shook her head and laughed. "Maybe I oughtta just go get drunk and belligerent and give her a healthy dose of the real Animal."
"I heard that!" Faith came barreling into the room. "Would you?" she asked hopefully.
Reece blinked a few times before finding her tongue. "Faith, that's not what I want to be."
"I know, but I'll take what you got," she laughed.
"You really want this, don't you?"
"Oh, yes," the actress nodded rapidly. "I'll tie myself to the bed as an offering?" she suggested.
"I don't need an offering, although if you tie yourself to the bed I won't complain," Reece laughed loudly. "You are too adorable. Okay, I'll see what I can do."
"Yes!" Faith ran out of the room and Reece could hear her doing a happy dance all the way downstairs.
"Now what?" she looked at her reflection in the mirror. "Can I will it to happen?" She closed her eyes and concentrated hard. She opened them up with a sigh. "Nope, that doesn't work." She sat down on the bed and tried to conjure something up. "Well, that won't work either. I'm in a weird mood." The club owner lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "Now, if she caught me yesterday or the day before..." An evil grin came to her lips, but quickly faded. "No, I don't want an angry, nasty Animal, I want to have fun. I'm trying too hard." After a while, Reece ventured to the top of the stairs and yelled down. "Hey, Faith? Why don't you call Cori? She seems to know more about me than I do," Reece chuckled to herself.
Faith did call Cori. In fact, she had called her before Reece even mentioned it. The dancer didn't have many suggestions, but they put their heads together and came up with a good idea of what Faith could do to provoke Reece. Assist her, but not push her over the limits.
There was an edge to The Animal, one Faith craved more than anything lately. She didn't want the overbearing and angry Reece... that never made for good company. Faith wanted to play with the unpredictable, powerfully sexy Reece and, if she pushed the right buttons, she could have what she wanted and keep Reece close at hand -- Animalistic, but not quite Animal. The more she thought about it, the more excited she became.
* * *
The club owner was just getting out of the shower when Faith called up that she was leaving for work. Reece threw the towel over her shoulders, pulled on her underwear and ran down to see her off.
"Have a good day, babe, I'll miss you," the tall woman leaned down to give Faith a kiss.
"Have you any idea how hard it is for me to leave now?" Faith whined.
Reece straightened up and rubbed her wet hair with the towel, totally aware of what this action caused her breasts to do. "Don't feel like working today?" she asked innocently.
Faith growled and threw herself at her half-naked lover. "No." She palmed two full breasts and sighed happily, "I'd like to stay home and devour you whole."
Reece snickered. Faith was so easy. "Wish you could, babe, but I have to get to work, too." She peeled Faith's fingers off her body and backed up a few steps, throwing the towel over her shoulders again to cover her breasts. Faith's look of disappointment was precious and Reece had to play with it. She ran her hands over her body and threw her head back. "Of course, I don't have to leave for hours yet and who knows what I'll do with the free time," she grinned wickedly and arched her back.
The actress's mouth watered. "You are evil. Evil. Evil. Evil." Faith stomped her foot with each word.
"I thought you liked me when I was evil," Reece teased, baring her teeth in a sneaky smile.
"You just wait 'til I get home, Reece," the red head turned on her heel and marched out of the house.
Reece chuckled, "That was fun."
* * *
John was having a hard time getting Faith to cooperate today. "Will you just sit still for half a second?!"
"I'm sorry, I can't." John gave her a glare that meant business. Faith took a deep breath and crossed her legs. "Okay, I'll try."
John sighed and lifted Faith's chin in another attempt to apply eyeliner. "What is wrong with you today miss thing? I've never seen you so jumpy."
"Reece."
"Uh oh. Trouble in paradise?" John asked distractedly as he finally finished one eye.
Faith exploded out of the chair. "She is so goddamned, fucking hot I can't stand it!" she yelled.
John almost fell backwards and he stood there with his eyebrow in his hairline and his mouth hanging open.
Faith began gesturing wildly. "She makes me crazy! I don't think she even knows that she's doing it half the time, but she knew it this morning." She started to pace. "She knows how badly I want her and she played with it. God, I want her so badly right now..." The actress put her face in her hands and was startled when her head was pulled back by a hand on the back of her neck.
"Oh, no! It took me half the morning to do one little green eyeball; you are not going to screw it all up just because you want to get laid! Now sit!" he pointed to the chair and tapped his foot.
Faith obeyed, totally mortified now by her explosion. "Oh, god, I am sooo embarrassed," she squeaked.
"You think you're the only one that's ever been horny? Well, you got another thing coming, Louise," the makeup artist pressed on her forehead and forced Faith's head back. "I could tell you stories for days about being horny, young lady, so don't even think that's an excuse."
"It's not merely horny, John. You wouldn't understand. It's more of a need to have something that you can't. It's right there and you can touch it, but it's not attainable." She squirmed around a bit and then sighed, "It's a part of her I want, but it's a part of her she's afraid to give me."
"Spike? Afraid of something? Ha!" John snorted.
"Yeah. Herself," Faith said quietly.
"I'll tell you what. I have no idea what you're talking about, but I think whatever it is, you have to make her face it head-on. I can't imagine what could frighten her." He pursed his lips studied her face. "You know, I was afraid of cats. One time I got stuck in an elevator with two of them and I thought I was going to die. A little while later, after some gentle coaxing, I was touching one and actually enjoying it. It was soft and silky; it enjoyed the way I was stroking it so much, it purred. How could I be afraid of something that wanted nothing but my attention, the pleasure I was giving it? I felt good knowing that I made it feel good. Now I love them."
Faith understood what John said and she bet he had no idea how much it applied to her own situation. Faith had a brilliant idea. With John's story and Cori's ideas, Faith was completely convinced she had a date with The Animal tonight. "Thanks, John. All it needs is a little stroking and I'm sure it will be purring in no time."
The make up artist eyed Faith curiously. He was sure he'd never seen that face before and he was afraid to ask its meaning.
* * *
Reece was sitting back in the recliner listening to her CD's. Smudge was sleeping on her lap, curled up in a precious little ball. They had been playing all morning and finally he fell in
to an exhausted nap. When she pushed the chair back, it made a noise that startled Smudge and he barked until she picked him up and held him. She was smiling down at the little black dog when the phone rang. She didn't want to disturb her puppy again and stared at the machine waiting for it to answer the call for her. Suddenly Faith's voice filled the room.
"Hi there, stud," she said seductively. "I've been thinking about you all morning," she made a yummy sound and Reece's eyes narrowed at the answering machine. "I keep picturing the way those glorious tits of yours looked this morning and I am soooo wet."
Faith practically purred the last two words and Reece felt a little damp herself. She shifted carefully in her chair so she wouldn't disturb Smudge.
"Anyway, I know you'd have loved for me to take those beautiful nipples in my mouth and lick them like tiny little lollypops, suck them, bite them..."
Faith paused here and Reece groaned. Her nipples reacted to Faith's words and she looked at them as they poked against her T-shirt. You are so gonna get it, Faith, she swore to herself.
"I bet they just got hard, didn't they? Oh yeah, I just got wetter thinking about wrapping my lips around them." Faith made a small groaning sound and Reece nodded at the machine. "Well, sexy, I have about 15 minutes until I'm needed on the set. Guess what I'm going to do with my time?" she asked with a chuckle. "Wish you were here," Faith blew a kiss and hung up.
Reece stared at the answering machine long after the call ended. What is she trying to do, kill me? She gently slipped her hand beneath the sleeping pup and lifted him up. After depositing him on the couch, she palmed both her breasts and tried to push her nipples back down. Ohhhh... she smirked. I know what you're up to, Reece nodded and chuckled out loud. Faith was trying to coax the Animal out to play and it was fine by her. She wasn't complaining at all. Good idea, baby... you just keep this up and you won't know what hit you.
* * *
That night at The Lounge, Reece sat on her usual barstool and banged her head against the bar. A few patrons moved away and some of the girls glanced over, but no one did anything. The girls had grown accustomed to this behavior from their boss; she'd been doing it all night long, usually after a phone call. They took a vote and Cori was elected to see if everything was alright, but the dancer came back with no news, having received only a growl for an answer. Cori knew that Faith was torturing her tall lover relentlessly, but she had never seen Reece act like this before. It was comical to see her in this state of painful frustration -- crossing and uncrossing her legs, pacing and muttering, fidgeting uncontrollably, closing her eyes in rapt attention when she listened to each phone call. The dancer laughed at the way Reece's hair was standing up all over the place from her hands constantly grabbing at it. Yep, bosslady, Faith has you exactly where she wants you. She would have felt a little bad for Faith, but she knew the actress had asked for it.
